Violet Eyes
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: Circuit, one of the only three XJ units in existence. Her memory has been corrupted, she no longer remembers her horrible past. Nor does she remember the power that she possesses. That power is being sought out by two old foes of Ratchet and Clank. Circuit never knew the value of a friend, but she's going to uncover everything when she lands on Kerwan one fateful night. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Reboot Initializing**

**Damage- 64.3752% Working Capacity**

**Memory Faulty**

**Reboot Complete**

_Ugh, my head. Where...where am I?_

She opened her eyes slowly, closing them a few times to make sure that this wasn't a dream or anything that wasn't reality. Her vision was very blurry, the only thing that she could make out were greenish blobs. With a bit of difficulty, she raised her arms, which shook somewhat violently after they lost contact with the ground, and rubbed her eyes. Turns out her visual components weren't damaged, but her eye covers were filthy with dirt and dust. After wiping the grim from her vision, her surroundings became much clearer. When she pulled her hands away from her face, she couldn't help but notice the purple glow light illuminating from her eyes reflecting off her metal skin that covered her three fingered hands. It was quite calming for some odd reason.

She took a look around. The area around her with dark and murky, with mountains of trash standing tall side by side. The sky was dark and cloudy and it gave off a nasty greenish glow. She looked left and right, she too was surrounded by piles of trash. No doubt she was in a dump, but why? And how long had she'd been here? She guessed that it shouldn't have been too long, she was covered in a fairly thin layer of trash.

Noticing that she was still sitting in the garbage she got to her feet, though she was very unsteady. And getting up wasn't too easy, it was almost like her body didn't want to get up it was so difficult. After stumbling from the new weight she had just put on her legs, she was suddenly jerked back and fell flat on her rear. Taking a moment to understand what just happened, she looked behind her to see a cloth snagged on a metal bar. It took her a second to realize that she was wearing the cloth that was caught, that's why she fell. She observed the newly noticed cloth. It was actually more like a jacket. It was a long black-grayish jacket that ended just inches above her ankles. It also had a little hood, a button that clicks at the neck, and short sleeves where her arms were sticking out of.

She removed the end of the jacket off the metal pole and took a few uneasy steps away from the pile she had just laid in. After finally mastering walking again, she picked up the pace to observe what was going on. She was wondering more about what was going on with herself than what her surroundings were like. She had no recollection of who she was or what she's supposed to do. She tried to remember the last time she was active, but her memory banks came up with this:

**Memory Faulty**

Memory Faulty. No wonder she can't remember anything. But what was really concerning her was here working capacity level

**64.3752% **

This she didn't quite understand. She felt fine. The only thing wrong was that she was a bit dizzy and her fuel tanks were a bit upset, but nothing to be seriously concerned about. Unless there was something that she hasn't noticed yet-

_Clank!_

"AAAHHHHH!"

She had hit her side against the side of an old spaceship wing. And shortly after she was met with an enormous amount of pain, clutching her side and falling down to her knees. Her shaky hands moved out of the way as she looked down to discover a horrible gash in her metallic skin. It was surrounded by dried oil and there were wired sticking out of it. Where in the universe did she get this? And how come she didn't notice it until now? She needed to find out what was going on. But how to escape this dump?

"Yo, Jim, I need you to take this to Kerwan!" Shouted a man's voice.

She turned around to see some strange looking men sitting around some bug garbage trucks. The largest man was telling a somewhat smaller man to take the truck to Kerwan. Kerwan? Where was that? She had no choice but to go for a ride with this man. It might be the only chance she has to escape this place.

With painful difficulty, the sprinted to the truck as one of the men got inside and started it. She managed to jump up and grab a bar on the back of the truck just as it started moving. With her jacket blowing in the sudden wind, the tiny robot began her journey to Kerwan.

* * *

**Hello, I am Amberdiamondswords (some of you may know me as Sword of Robotics), and this is my first R&amp;C fanfic EVER.**

**Now I bet you're wondering why I'm not referring to this robot by a name. And I'm just saying keep your pants on, her name will come later. **

**Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy this! **

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Planet Kerwan**

_'Oh please tell me that we're almost there!'_

Her jacket was blowing off, the only thing holding it were the crooks of her elbows. If she let go, that mysterious black jacket she awoke with would be long gone.

And...so would her herself.

She had no idea how fast the truck was going. After she had jumped and grabbed onto the bar attached to the back of the truck, all she felt was a powerful wind hit her body. She had to tighten her grip to intense levels quickly before she fell off. The warmth of the dark and musky garbage dump left the atmosphere, only to be replaced by a harsh coldness that you would be unbearable to any organic. It's almost unbearable for a robot.

She couldn't quite tell where she was right now, her eyes were screwed shut. She was afraid that the immense force pushing on her body would break the glass coverings of her eyes. It had felt like hours when she couldn't handle it anymore. Her hands were suddenly slipping, her fingers and palms aching from holding on so tightly. The large gash on her side was stinging extremely badly. She felt some sort of slippery film forming under her hands. The wind felt like it was getting colder and colder and her grip was getting weaker and weaker, until...

_'NO!'_

Her hands open and she immediately flew off. Her body was thrust backwards and hurtled downwards. Her body was flying in all directions, she wasn't sure which way she was facing. She couldn't tell which way was up or down or left or right. All she knew was that it was a matter of time before-

_'SMACK! Clank clank clank clank clank...'_

She had slammed into the pavement. She yelled in pain as she landed on her head, then bounced for a few feet, injuring another part of her body every time. She knew that she had broken a few things the second they came in contact with the hard ground. Then, finally, after the fifth bounce, she stopped, and ended up laying flat on her back. She was now aching everywhere instead of both of her hands. Her vision was once again blurry, the only sight she was greeted to was a very deep blue and some white lights. Thought, it was very hard to tell, she could hardly see out her right eye. She slowly, very slowly, lifted her arm up from the ground and stretched out her fingers to feel the surface of her eye. Cracked. Broken. She brought up her other hand and rubbed her properly functioning eye.

_'What the...?'_

She had noticed the black substance covering her small palm. The film that had made her let go of the truck was oil, her blood. She had gripped the bar too hard, it had actually made her palm crack and leak a bit. She looked at her other hand, which was too covered in the black liquid. She, though it was a bit painful, sat up and balanced herself on the ground. She looked around to see where she was now. It was some sort of dark alleyway. The white lights she saw were streetlights from the nearby road. And the dark blue was coming from the clear night sky. Even though she was in a fair amount of pain, she took a moment to appreciate the beautiful sight of the stars. After that, she decided that it was time to clean off her hands. She reached back for her jacket, only to find that it wasn't there. She gasped.

_'Where is it? Where is it?!'_

She quickly jumped to her feet, which turned her fuel tank upside down so badly she thought that she would vomit if she did that again. She then half walked half ran down the alleyway, looking around for any sign of black fabric. After a few minutes of continuously walking up and down the alley, scanning every inch of the darkness, but she came up with nothing. After finally admitting defeat, she put her hands behind her back, looked down at the ground, and started walking deeper into the alley. Why was she so upset about this jacket? What emotional attachment did she have to it? She passed by a broken shard of glass. She stopped in her track, gazing into it, finally getting to look at herself properly. She had a round head with two big purple eyes and a short antennae with a small red bulb on top. Her body was in the shape of a box, with two short arms and legs sticking out. There was even a door that lead to a chest compartment. A bit embarrassed about doing it, she reached inside, only to find that there was nothing in her compartment. She felt so exposed without her jacket. Cold too.

After observing herself for a little while longer, she was about ready to head off to who knows where, before she heard something.

"Hey, look at this!" Cried a male's voice.

She jumped at the sudden voice. That was the third time she's heard a voice. The other two were the garbage men back at the dump. She jumped into the shadows and tried to become hidden from sight. For some reason, that voice was so unsettling to her, it made her upset about something, she just didn't know what. She crept against the wall, trying to get closer to the source of the voice, when another voice came through.

"What is its significance? It is an article of clothing," said another voice. It was another male, but it sounded more robotic than human. She became more curious as she crept closer.

"Significance? Look at it! It's so small, it could fit you!" Said the organic's voice.

"It is in the garbage, Ratchet. Clearly there is something not right with it. Otherwise, it would not be here."

_'Ratchet?'_

Why did that name seem so familiar? Like she had heard it before? And why did it make her feel so...so scared?

"Whoever wore this must've been no bigger than you. And who would want to throw this out anyway? It's a perfectly good black jacket! It's got the neck button and everything!"

Black jacket? Her eyes burst wide open. All the pain from her body had left her at that very moment. Whoever this Ratchet was, he was holding the one thing that she owned. She honestly didn't know what to do. She wanted to go get her clothes, but she felt so scared. Why did she feel like this? Was it because she was afraid of interacting with other people? It's true that she hasn't said a single word to a single person since she woke up. She didn't even talk to any of the garbage men, not one word. She was even starting to wonder if she could talk at all. She decided not to think about talking, all that matters was getting her jacket back. It helped cover that nasty cut on her side, which was stinging more by the minute.

* * *

Ratchet twirled the jacket in his hand. It was garbage day tomorrow so he had to bring all the trash bags down to the dumpster so he and Clank don't have a smelly apartment for a whole week. When they took the elevator down and came out the back door to where the dumpster was, he had found the after accidentally stepping on it while thrusting a garbage bag into a can. He thought that the size of it was hilarious, it probably could fit Clank. But Clank refused to wear it because he found it in the trash. Clank was never a big fan of unsanitary things. He seriously wondered who wore this, he's never really seen anyone the size of Clank. So he simply dropped the jacket back onto the ground and kicked it away.

"Ratchet," said his robotic friend, who was looking up at him.

"Yeah?"

"May we go back inside, it is getting fairly cold out here."

"Yeah, yeah it is. Alright, let's go inside."

Ratchet watched Clank walk ahead of him and he quickly followed. He was getting really tired of the horrible garbage smell, so he wanted inside quick. After he grabbed the doorknob and took a step inside the building, he heard something.

_'Clank clank...' _

"OW!"

"What was that?" Ratchet said, his ears shooting upwards.

Clank had heard it too, he was peaking out into the alleyway from where the 'ow' had come from. Ratchet wasn't sure who or what that was. And it was so sudden, he wasn't too sure what to do right now. His Omniwrench was upstairs in their apartment and they had no weapons on them, so if it was an enemy, they're screwed. He slowly took a step forward, air pushing Clank back as a sign for him to stay put.

"Hello?" Ratchet half yelled, hoping that someone would answer. Instead, he was met with small sounds of anger and distress. He quickly sneaked by the large dumpster, where he threw his own trash bags into. Then he leaned forward and tried to locate what was making those sounds. It didn't take long to see the small figure fiddling with something. It also didn't take long to realize that the figure was fiddling with the jacket that he stepped on. It look like it tried to put it on upside down. Ratchet suddenly felt a hand on his leg, he knew that Clank had come along to see. Ratchet cleared his throat and stepped out from behind his peaking spot.

"Uh, hi there, you need help there?" He asked in a somewhat calm voice. The figure jumped, which, conveniently, caused the jacket fit finally fit on the right way. And the next thing that Ratchet saw felt like a dream. Like it couldn't be happened, like it literally could not be happening. Two bright purple circles met his eyes. And those two eyes belonged to a robot. A robot who looked exactly like Clank.

* * *

**Well, this took longer to write than expected. Sorry about that.**

**By the way, Circuit will gain her name very shortly, so I she won't be nameless for much longer. **

**And thank you my dear Swordians for the lovely words in the reviews. I feel a lot more confident in this story now.**

**And I found an awesome song that came out recently that matches this story almost perfectly (though it probably won't make sense right now since we're so early in the story). It's called "Salvaged" by NateWantsToBattle. Oh my god, it's so good, listen to it if you ever have the time. Like, seriously, it's awesome.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	3. Chapter 3

A robot that looked exactly like Clank, Ratchet didn't think that it was possible. As far as he knew, the only robot that looked like Clank was Klunk, the imposter that Doctor Nefarious created awhile back. But it couldn't be Klunk, he was dead. Plus, this robot's eyes were more of a violet than red. And, if it was Klunk, it wouldn't be just standing there, it would probably trying to strangle Clank right now.

The poor robot looked completely horrified. It was like it was staring at two enormous Cragmites instead of a Lombax and a robot. It finished putting its jacket on and grasped it tightly, not taking its eyes off of Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet knew now why he thought the jacket was perfect for Clank, because it actually was. But why did this robot need that jacket? Shaking the question off, Ratchet called out to the small robot.

"Hey there, what are you doing here? And who are you?"

Ratchet stepped forward to get a better look at this Clank look-alike, but it quickly backed up. He took a step backwards at the sudden reaction. Why was this robot so afraid of him? He bent down low and reached a hand our so he could try to grab the robot. "What's wrong? I'm not gonna hurt you or-hey!" And like that, the robot slapped Ratchet's hand away, turned around, put up its tiny jacket hood over its head, and sprinted away. Ratchet, rubbing his slapped hand, yelled "Wait! Come back! Clank, we need to catch up to-Clank!" Clank was way ahead of him. He was already sprinting down the alley after it. Ratchet rubbed his eyes "And he asks why he even bothers. Clank! Wait up!" He sprinted after his friend.

* * *

_'So scary.'_

She thought as she ran down alleyway after alleyway as fast as she can. Her jacket flowing in the wind behind her. Her stomach was fuel tanks were going insane. Her cut was throbbing with enormous amounts of pain. She had no idea why she was running. The Lombax had showed signs of kindness towards her, but yet she didn't want to be near him. And that robot, why did he look so familiar? Like she's seen something like him before? She wasn't sure what to think anymore. The universe seemed like such an unfriendly place through her eyes, even when people offer to help her. She felt like she couldn't trust anyone. She didn't know what that Lombax would have done to her. Maybe he would have knocked her out and taken her apart for spare parts. Or maybe he would've turn her into a service droid. She just felt like that if she had taken that Lombax's hand, something bad was going to happen.

_'Clank clank clank clank'_

She detected the sound of metal feet hitting the ground, and they weren't hers. She looked over her sholder, only to meet two big green eyes, they were as big as hers. She gasped and tried to run even faster, but the harsh pain in her side was slowing her down. This robot was obviously running after her, so she had to lose him somehow. The solution came as quickly as the problem itself. A tower of cardboard boxes laid in the trash ridden alley. She drifted right, the robot behind her had a confused look on his face. That was last expression she saw before she slammed into the base of the box tower, knocking all the boxes over. The other robot stopped in his tracks, and covered his read as boxed rained down upon him. She gave her first small laugh, which sounded awfully staticy and almost inaudible. And she continued her run.

Minutes later, her oil pumping sprint turned into a slow walk. She really shouldn't have ran so hard like that, now her body was aching again. All the excitement over with the Lombax and robot made her forget all of her pain. But now that all of that is over, she went back to her normal, painful stasis. She decided that it wasn't wise to walk anymore, her legs felt like that they were going to break any second. Besides, her stomach was really upset. So she simply sat down on a pile of old newspapers that were stacked next to some trash cans. It felt nice to sit down, to relax for once. But, she had to decide what to do next. She had to get a plan together about what to do now. She must have a purpose here in the universe, all she had to do was find out what it was.

_Rumble_

She grasped her stomach, she was starving. But she was afraid that anything she ate would come right back up with this horribly upset fuel tank. Then again, she would have to eat at some point. But where in the world was she going to find any kind of oil at this time of night. She knew that there was nothing that she could do right now except try to sleep the night off and try to find food in the morning. She placed her head in her hands and looked down at the ground. She was kind of regretting running away from that robot, it would have actually been nice to have someone to talk to. It was only a matter of seconds until her wish unfortunately cam true.

"Excuse me, but are you alright?" Said a familiar robotic voice.

She jumped as the green eyed robot who pursued her earlier walked towards her. She hopped off the newspapers and faced him, attempting to walk backwards. He raised one of his hands "No, do not run away again. I am afraid that I might have lost Ratchet back there, and I might become even farther from him if I chase after you again." She didn't say anything, she just kept staring at him.

* * *

Her eyes really were beautiful up close. Well, eye. One of them was cracked. But, he found it quite rude to mention it, so he didn't. Clank was glad that he had quickly climbed over the boxes and caught a slight glance of where she was heading before it was too late. He wondered where Ratchet was though, maybe he was on his way here right now. Shaking Ratchet out of his thoughts, he turned his attention back to his female counterpart. He asked in the most polite voice possible "I hope that you don't mind me asking but...who are you exactly?" She just had a blank look on her face. Clank thought that she was going to start running, but instead, she spoke. "Wh-wh-what d-do you w-want from m-m-me?" Her voice was rough and full of static, obviously she had a broken voice box. Clank shook his head" I do not want anything from you. I'm just asking who you are, and maybe-oh dear!" A pool of oil was forming underneath the other robot's feet. For a moment, he thought that she had actually wet herself. Then he saw oil dripping from the side of her body. Clank was about to ask if she needed medical attention until she let out a short, nearly inaudible shriek as he heard someone coming up from behind him. Ratchet had just caught up with him. He grabbed his knees to keep from falling over "You run fast, do you know that?" He looked up at the female robot "Oh hey! You found him!" Clank looked up at Ratchet with a very worried expression "Ratchet, she is not well! We have to help her!" It didn't take long for the Lombax to realize the pool of oil forming under the robot "Whoa, that's a lot of-SHE?!"

Using that as a moment of opportunity, the female robot turned around and started running again. Ratchet and Clank were about to start chasing after her once again, until they saw her fall over onto the ground. There where a couple ripping sounds, signifying that her jack had ripped in several places. Clank saw her give sad whimpers as she looked at the torn fabric, but then, he looked in a bit of disgust as her torso jerked a few times. And next thing he knew, oil was spilling out of her mouth. He looked up at his friend "Ratchet, please help her!" "Already on it," he ran over to her, catching her before she fell into the pool of her own vomit. She had fallen unconscious by the looks of it. Ratchet cradled her in his arms, motioning Clank to follow him by nodding his head "Come on, let's take her back to our place."

* * *

There was nothing but darkness. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of both familiar and unfamiliar voices.

_"This isn't fair! Don't you let these people have a choice? You can't force them to-" She said on the verge of tears._

_"I've about had enough of you...kill her!" Yelled a high and shrill voice._

_The clanking of small feet hitting the ground was heard. Then the sound of another pair of feet. And then..._

_"No! Leave me alone! No! NO! AHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

Her eyes burst wide open. Her eyes met with a ceiling with no lights on. The room was full of sunlight, so there was actually no reason for the lights to be on. After a few seconds of wondering what was going on, she remembered what had happened. She had been cornered by the Lombax and the little robot. The little robot that looked awfully like...

She was feeling unusually warm and somewhat comfortable. It didn't take her long before she realized that she was laying on a couch. A plushy gray couch that stretched out quite a bit, it really was a big couch. She could also feel something soft beneath her head, possibly one of the couch's cushions. She looked down at her torso, which was covered up in a blanket. No wonder she felt so warm. She took a look around, but she didn't sit up. She concluded that she was in some sort of apartment, and a very nice one by the looks of it. Wondering what time it was, she scoped around for a clock, which she quickly located on the wall. 10:23 AM. It was morning.

She sat up, it was oddly a lot more easier to do it this time. The blanket fell down to her legs, and she just now realized that her jacket was not present on her body. She guessed that the Lombax had taken it after she fell unconscious. But, if she had her jacket on, she wouldn't have noticed that the gash in her side was no longer there. She observed her side, it was like she was never injured in the first place. The only thing left was a very faint white line that showed where the gash had been closed at. She raised her hand up to her right eye, where she found no crack. That must be why she could see so well now. Her battery was also charged, all internal damage had been repaired, but her memory was still faulty. She didn't care though, she actually felt good for once. She was just about to get up until-

"Well, you took your time waking up."

She almost jumped out of her metal casing. She looked nervously over the back of the couch to see the same orange Lombax that she had seen the previous nights looking down at her. What was his name again? Ratchet? Without thinking, she got up and tried to jump off the couch so she could make a run for it, but a gloved hand to the face made her fall back down.

"Whoa there, you need to calm down. You looked positively horrified last night, but your alright now. So you can relax," Ratchet said, using a voice that would hopefully prevent her from running away. She didn't know what to do or say. Was he the one who fixed all of her injuries? Did he place her on this couch so she could sleep comfortably? Finding out that there was nothing else that she could really do, she looked up at him.

"Did you fix the cut on my side?" She asked in an innocent voice.

"Yep, it was a nasty one too. How in the world did you get it?" He asked with a curious tone.

"I don't know. I don't remember. And, uh, you fixed all my internal damage?"

"Yep."

"And my eye?"

"I managed to find a spare eye glass, yes."

"What about my battery?"

"I had you plugged into a charging station while I was fixing everything. After your battery had become full, I just laid you down o the couch so you could rest."

"B-but, what about my jacket?"

"Oh that? Right over here." Ratchet said pointing to a coat wrack. He walked over to it, removing the tiny black jacket off of a hook, and carried it back over to her. But before he handed it to her, he looked over at the other side of the room and waved a little. "Hey Clank, she woke up!"

She looked over her shoulder, which dropped once she saw him. She really wasn't imagining it, that little robot did look exactly like her. The only difference between them were the eyes. Her eyes were a calming purple while his were a brilliant green. He laid his green eyes on her and he looked about as nervous as she did. She hesitated at first, not wanting to look away from him, but she looked back at Ratchet, who handed her her jacket. She looked at the places where it had been torn, but they were replaced by stitches.

"You sewed my jacket back together too?" She said looking up at Ratchet. He shook his head, smiling. "No, that wasn't me. That was Clank actually. He did it while I was fixing you." She looked at Clank, who was standing next to her only he wasn't on the couch. If he wasn't a robot, his face would be bright red at that moment. Feeling bad for making him feel embarrassed, she slipped her jacket on and looked back and forth between the two somewhat strangers.

"So...who exactly are you guys?"

"Well, I'm Ratchet," Ratchet said placing his hand on his chest. "And his name's Clank I'm guessing," she said looking at her male double. Her voice saying his name must've done something to him, because it looked like someone ran an active taser up his spine. Ratchet laughed at Clank's reaction, which made the small robot hive him a nasty look. Clank then cleared his throat and looked up at her "And, what is your name if I may ask?"

That was a very good question. What was her name? She had never given this much thought, which seemed odd. Usually a person's first objective after memory loss is finding out their name. Why didn't she remember hers? The only explanation is that she either really couldn't remember it or she never had one. She looked at the two and shrugged "I...I don't know." Ratchet looked at Clank with a confused face. Then he looked back at her "You don't know your own name?" She shook her head with a sign of disappointment "I can't remember it. My memory is terribly faulty, I can hardly remember anything." Clank had a look of pity on his face as he looked back up as Ratchet. Ratchet nodded and looked down at her "Well...I guess I'll have to give you a name for the time being."

A sudden feeling of excitement washed over her. A name for her? That actually sounded amazing. To be called something instead of being a nameless robot. She smiled as she looked up at Ratchet, wondering what name he had in store for her. He placed a hand on his chin "Hm, well, I named Clank because of the sound he made after he was knocked into the side of a ship," Clank would be turning red again.

"So, I'll have to name you after something."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Well, I'm not naming you Jacket, Clank would probably scowl at me."

"Do not tempt me," Clank said.

"You were pretty damaged when we found you, but Damage isn't really an appropriate name."

"No it is not, especially for a female robot," Clank said

"Yeah, if you could stop talking for a moment, that would be fantastic. Hm...oh! I know! When I was fixing you, you had _so many_ broken circuitboards. Seriously, I spent almost an hour fixing them. So, how about Circuit?"

"Ratchet, don't you think that you can come up with something a little more suiting for-"

"I like it," she said. She wasn't lying either, she really liked the name Circuit. It really seemed to suit her. Ratchet looked at Clank with a victorious smile, Clank simply attempted to roll his eyes and looked away from him. "Hey! Don't you look away from me!" Ratchet said playfully punching Clank in the arm, making Clank laugh a little. Circuit smiled, it was obvious that these two were good friends. And there was this feeling coming up inside her. She was wanting something. She thought that she had gotten what she needed when Ratchet brought her a can of oil to drink. No, this was something else. The kind smiles, the welcoming environment.

Could it be that...she wanted to be their friend too?

* * *

**3,000 word long chapter, I feel so accomplished right now. **

**Next chapter might take awhile to make because I'm not too sure what to do next in the story. Maybe I'll have Circuit spend quality time with both Ratchet and Clank, how does that sound to you guys?**

**Hm, April Fool's Day is almost here. If Insomniac does something with the Ratchet and Clank Movie as a prank (give us a joke release date, give us a joke movie trailer, etc.), someone's gonna get punched by the Walloper.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	4. Chapter 4

"So you don't remember a thing from before you woke up in a dump?" Ratchet asked. After settling down, Circuit had a helping of oil to fill her empty fuel tank, then she explained everything that had happened to her before Ratchet and Clank found her, whom she was now more comfortable with. Waking up in a dump, jumping on and falling off the garbage truck, the constant state of fear and pain that she was trapped in, she told them everything that she knew. Ratchet kept asking how she got the cut on her side and why she was in a pile of trash, but she kept saying that she had no idea. When he was about to ask a fourth time, he got an annoyed look from Clank that made him get the point that he had asked her enough.

"No, not one thing. I'm just as confused as you two are," Circuit said, admiring her clean, silver metal surface. She had to give it to Ratchet, he had done phenomenal job fixing her as well as cleaning her. "Curious," Clank said with a quizzical look on his face "I've never heard of a memory so faulty. Perhaps it was hacked?" "Who would hack a robot then throw it away?" Ratchet said, obviously unconvinced by Clank's theory. "Who said that I was thrown away?" Circuit said in an upset tone. Clank jumped up onto the couch next to her "No one is saying that you were thrown away, Circuit. I am sure that you being put in that dump was a mistake made by an obviously irresponsible person." Clank's response definitely her feel better, his voice was as calming as the light illuminating from her eyes. She cleared her throat "Maybe, but we may never know. But that's enough about me. What do you two do exactly?" She asked putting her chin his her hands, looking up at Ratchet. He got off the couch's plushy arm with a smile on his face, like he had been waiting for her to ask the question. He walked several feet away and motioned her to follow with his hand "Come on, I'll show you," and he walked out the back of the room. Clank walked to the end of the couch, then stopped and turned around, looking at Circuit. She jumped down and was fairly unsteady for a moment, she was not used to having perfectly functioning legs. She grabbed the side of the coffee table that laid in front of the couch and used it to help her along. She gave a nervous smile at Clank, who was watching her carefully, like he was ready to catch her at any second. She laughed "Hah-hah, new legs," she said pointing to her own legs. Clank gave his own little laugh in return as he led her out of the room.

* * *

"I see that you two are a fan of spaceships," Circuit said. Ratchet had taken her to the garage of their apartment, where he and Clank spent their time fixing old ships for people. It was more of a hobby than an occupation even though it did earn them a fair amount of bolts. However, there were no stranger's broken down ship, but a small hovercraft that was somewhat taken apart. A larger ship was near the back of the garage, laying there silently.

Circuit looked at the strange hovercraft "What is this?" "A Bombsled," Ratchet said "I built it myself. But, it's having a few problems as you can see. But I'm sure that, with my skills, it will be back up and running on no time." He patted the small windshield of the sled, and it fell off, shattering on the floor. With a very unamused face, Ratchet looked back and forth between Clank (who didn't like the sudden mess) and Circuit. "Let's all pretend that that didn't just happen." Circuit, who was trying her best not to laugh, walked towards the back of the garage, observing the larger spaceship. Ratchet noticed the curious robot and walked over to her "Oh, that's Aphelion. She's me and Clank's ship. We've taken her all round the universe. Come here." Ratchet grabbed Circuit by the waist and lifted her up onto Aphelion's wing. A bit alert about the change in height that she was at, she walked along the wing and peeked into the cockpit, where she saw two pilot seats.

"She's a nice ship, you guys are lucky that you get to travel around in her-"

"Well, you're certainly sweet."

"AHH!"

Circuit, alarmed by the sudden voice, jumped backwards onto the edge of the wing, where she slipped and fell off. Ratchet quickly held out his arms and caught her, her jacket made her a softer catch than Clank. He returned her back to the floor, where she backed up a little. Ratchet turned to Aphelion "Sorry Aphelion, she's just a bit nervous. Not really a people person...er, robot." "Quite understandable," said Aphelion "I'd be startled too if something started randomly talking to me." Circuit, who was recovering from her somewhat heart attack, walked back to the Bombsled with Ratchet. Clank was cleaning up the broken glass; loading the pieces onto a dustpan and dumping them into a trashcan. Circuit picked up a somewhat larger shard of glass and looked at it. It was a dull green, not a brilliant green like Clank's eyes. Ratchet rubbed his forehead "Well, we've been set back quite a bit. Might as well start working on it again while we've got some free time." Clank nodded "Indeed, it may take longer to repair this as we thought," he looked down at what was left of the shattered mess, which was nothing but very tiny piles of glass dust "much longer." "Well, no point in wasting time, let's get to work!" Ratchet clapped his hands together and walked over to a desk where several tools and blueprints laid. Circuit jogged up next to him, the glass shard still in her hand "Wait, what do you want me to do?" Ratchet's ears lowered slightly "Oh, um, well...uh...oh! Here," he lifted her up into the desk and handed her a piece of blank paper and a pencil "draw me something." Circuit stared at the paper for a moment, shrugged, then nodded. "See if you can draw better than me," Ratchet said pointing at himself as he walked backwards towards the Bombsled. Clank, who had caught Circuit's eye, looked at her and shrugged as well.

* * *

"Wait for it...wait for it...now!"

Clank turned the Bombsled on. It's motor roared as it turned on, then vibrated steadily as it hovered several inches from the floor. Ratchet, who was on his knees behind it. He raised his arms in the air "Aw yeah, I've still got mad skills! Mad ski-GAH!" Several klunking noises emerged from the sled, and it spewed black smoke from it's backside, engulfing Ratchet in it. Clank quickly turned around and shut the sled off, making it fall roughly back to the ground, the motor quieted down. He jumped into his own seat behind Ratchet's seat and looked down at the cloud of smoke "Ratchet, are you alright?" Ratchet waved the dark cloud away from him, coughing up some as well "No, I am not alright." He looked at his body, it was covered in patches of gray "Aw man! look at my fur! And my clothes!" Clank laughed "Hehehehehe, you are a spotted Lombax now, hehehe." "Oh, shut your mouth," he said grumpily as he brushed some of the gray dust off his arm. He stood up and walked over to the desk, where Circuit sat, absorbed in a piece of paper she was drawing on. Ratchet grabbed a rag and started wiping everything off of him as he pointed a thumb at Circuit "See? At least Circuit is nice enough as to not laugh at me." Clank simply smiled and rolled his eyes. Ratchet wiped his face, then peeked over his rag to look at Circuit. He had to confess, she had been so quiet that he had almost forgotten about her. He uncovered his mouth "Whatcha' doing Circuit. You haven't said anything for awhile." There was a five second delay for a response, but she looked up him and said "Hm? Oh, I am sorry about by silence. I just got a bit absorbed in this drawing." "What did you draw?" Ratchet asked as he removed the piece of paper. After several short seconds, he toppled over, grabbing the desk for support. Circuit quickly stood up

"What is it?" She asked, alarmed.

"Uhhh...I-I..." Ratchet stuttered.

"If it is that terrible that it made you almost fall over, then I won't-"

"It's not terrible! How in the world did you do this?!"

"Uh, I uh...well...I do not know. I just did it."

It was a drawing of Ratchet and Clank riding on the Bombsled that they were working on. But the detail was so amazing, it looked like a photograph. Every gear in the sled, every piece of fur on Ratchet's ears, and the brilliant green of Clank's eyes were right there in the picture. It was clear to Ratchet: Circuit was a natural artist.

Clank took the picture from Ratchet and looked at it as well. He didn't topple over like Ratchet did, but his eyes did go wide. He looked up at Ratchet "Remarkable! I think that she might draw better than you, Ratchet." "Ya' think?" He said with a smile. Just like Clank, if Circuit was an organic, her face would be red right now. She felt both awkward and pleased to hear the two compliment her picture. Ratchet, who was admiring the picture once more, looked at the clock. It was 8:32 PM. HE stretched his arms and looked at the two robots "Come on you two, let's go inside." The two robots obeyed and followed him back inside the apartment.

Once back inside, Ratchet walked into the kitchen area, stuck Circuit's drawing on the refrigerator, then reached inside the fridge grabbing a water and two cans of oil. Circuit and Clank climbed up the tall chairs that stood at an island counter and sat down. Ratchet slid them both a can of oils as he started to drink the water. Circuit looked at Ratchet awkwardly as he came into the kitchen's light, "I did not know that you had spots, Ratchet." Clank nearly spat out his oil, luckily he covered his mouth just in time as he giggled. Ratchet gave a small annoyed laugh "Hahaha, yeah, it's real funny Clank. These aren't spots, Circuit. I just got smoked by the Bombsled. I'll take a shower in the morning to wash it all out. I'm too tired to take one tonight." Circuit looked at Clank, who was about done covering up his giggles, she smiled at him "You have such a cute laugh!" Clank's laugh stopped dead in its tracks. He swallowed the oil in his mouth and looked at her "I-I do?" Circuit nodded. It was Clank's turn again to turn red. Ratchet had his arms crossed, smiling while looking at him. He pretended to yawn and walked to the edge of the kitchen "Well, I say it's time to hit the sack. Hey Clank, why don't you show Circuit where she'll be sleeping?" "O-Okay," Clank said somewhat bashfully. Ratchet left the room with a smile on his face, leaving the two robots alone. Clank turned around and faced Circuit, who had just finished her oil. She noticed that he was looking at her, feeling awkward, she offered a smile. Clank rubbed the back of his head "Well, uh, Circuit. Let me show you to your quarters." "Alright," she replied as she watched Clank jump down from his chair. He walked over to the base of her chair and reached up his hand, offering to help her down. She grabbed his hand, which made both of them feel some sort of chill go up their metallic spines. She jumped down and let Clank's hand go.

Ratchet had already went to his bedroom. There were actually only two bedrooms, Ratchet's and the Guest Room. Clank led Circuit to the guest room, where there was a desk with a chair, a somewhat small bed and nightstand with a lamp on it. Circuit looked around, it was a fairly nice room. But a question had come to her "Wait, if I am sleeping in here, where do you sleep? If I am correct, there are only two bedrooms." Clank wasn't quite sure how to answer this without embarrassing himself. Truth was, he slept with Ratchet in his bed. He used to sleep on top of the nightstand, but it wasn't too comfortable. Plus his legs would be aching in the morning. So once Clank told Ratchet, he invited him to just sleep in his bed. Also, after the Zoni took him, both Ratchet and Clank felt so alone, so they wanted to be close to each other at night just to be sure that the other one was there. Ratchet even hugged Clank like a teddy bear in his sleep, like he didn't want the Zoni to take him away again.

Clank sighed "I sleep in Ratchet's room actually." "Ratchet's room? Why?" Circuit asked as she felt the blankets of the bed. "Well...it is just that Ratchet...I uh...we need to stay close together in case something happens during the night. Ratchet can just hop out of bed, grab me, and see what the problem is." Circuit stared at him, not entirely sure that he was telling the truth, but she decided to believe him anyway. She adjusted her jacket which was sitting awkwardly on her shoulders "Thank you for letting me stay here by the way." Clank nodded and smiled "Neither me or Ratchet would turn away from an injured robot. Especially you." Circuit blushed, which she honestly didn't know if it was showing or not (she hoped not). She looked at the floor, then back at Clank, giving him a little wave "Well...goodnight." "Y-yes, uh goodnight, Circuit," he said as he walked towards the door. He grabbed the edge of the door and closed it behind him. He leaned on the closed and put a hand on his forehead. "I saw that," Ratchet said. Clank jumped at the Lombax's sudden appearance. He gave a somewhat agitated face as he walked into the bedroom "Do not say another word." Ratchet laughed as he followed him and closed the door.

* * *

**Awww, aren't those two so cute?**

**Also, I know that Ratchet and Clank didn't tell Circuit about them being heroes. I'm doing all of that next chapter.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	5. Chapter 5

_It wasn't dark anymore, but it was cold. Very cold. Especially on the back. A bright white light shined above, it was almost blinding. Black figures stood all around, they all looked the exact same._

_"Let me see! Let me see!" Yelled a distinctly familiar high voice. A much taller figure formed above, the the face or details could not be made out. It looked closely, then turned sharply to look at the other figures "What the-IDIOTS! You got the eye color wrong!" The tall figure grabbed one of the smaller ones and thrusted it forward "Does THAT look green to you?!"_

_It was all starting to fade away, movements and voices started to become drowned by the fuzziness._

_"I'm sorry sir! So sorry! But..." the voice drifted off._

_"But what?!"_

_"B-b-but...I uh...I don't think that the eye color is the only thing we got wrong..."_

_"What? What are you...oh...ohhh...NO!"_

* * *

That 'no' echoed right out of Circuit's dream and into her audio sensors. Her eyes opened immediately, only to not meet with a white light, but a plain ceiling that was lit up with sunlight. She thrusted herself upwards so she sat up straight. It was morning now according to all the sunlight coming from the window. She glanced at the alarm clock, which read 9:06 AM. She must've been tired to have slept that long. She stretched her arms and legs, yawned, then rubbed her eyes. It took her moment to remember that she was at Ratchet and Clank's place inside their guest room. She tossed the red bed covers off of her legs, then hopped down onto the floor. She walked over to the window, jumping up onto its sill and taking a look outside. It was a clear day. The city of Metropolis was enjoying a peaceful morning with only a few hovercars flying here and there.

The click of the guest room door made Circuit jump. Ratchet came in, already dressed and his fur looked a bit untidy. But it wasn't covered in gray spots anymore, so it was more of an improvement. He looked at the bed, then quickly located Circuit at the window. "Oh! Good, you're up. Get your jacket, I've got a surprise for you and Clank," he said with a smile in his face, nodded his head towards the chair that held her black jacket. With sudden motivation, Circuit jumped down from the window sill, grabbed followed by putting on her jacket, and then followed Ratchet out of the room. He led her to the living room, where Clank was standing, rubbing his eyes. It didn't look like he had a full battery. But he perked right up once Circuit entered the room.

"Alright you two, follow me upstairs," Ratchet said.

"What for?" Clank asked.

"Because, I want to show you something."

"Can't you just tell us what it is?" Circuit asked.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, I'm way across the room!"

Ratchet said as he walked to the apartment door. Clank facepalmed as Circuit formed a very annoyed expression. Then a thought occurred to her "Upstairs? But...you live on the top floor. So if we go upstairs, won't we be on the roof?" "Yes, and that is what I am worried about," Clank said, his shoulders dropping as he reluctantly followed the path that Ratchet took out of the room, Circuit right behind him.

* * *

After a quick climb up a flight of stairs, Ratchet brought the two robots up onto the roof like Circuit had predicted. Circuit shielded her eyes once she walked into the sunlight, god knows the last time she had ever been hit by the sun's rays. It had a familiar warm feeling though. It was actually a nice change of atmosphere, last time she was outside she was covered in oil-like blood and throwing up. She really didn't like to think about that night.

"Check it out!" Ratchet said, pointing to the edge of the rooftop. Circuit quickly located a familiar looking ship at the edge of the roof. "Is...is that the-" Clank began, but he was cut off by Ratchet finishing his sentence "Bombsled? Yes it is. I finished it this morning while you two were asleep." Ratchet walked over to the side of the sled with Clank and Circuit. "I fixed the problem with the boosters after a few attempts of trying to make it work- and no I did not become a spotted Lombax again, so don't ask," he said, looking down at Clank who was holding back a few small laughs. Clank cleared his throat "How do you know that it works, Ratchet? Last time you said that it was working properly, we-" "Yeah, yeah, I remember. But trust me, this time, it will work. I rode it around the garage for a little bit, and it handles smoothly," Ratchet said, patting the hood of the sled. His ears suddenly perked up "Oh! And I added a little something." He was looking at Circuit now, who had been just standing there listening to him and Clank bicker. He walked behind the sled and grabbed onto the back of Clank's seat and pulled, where a second small seat slid out. Circuit looked surprised, Ratchet gave a small snicker "What? D'you think I was going to let you sit here and watch me and Clank have all the fun? Come on! Let's take it for a spin!"

Ratchet jumped up onto the Bombsled while a somewhat worried expression came upon Clank's face. "I do not think that this is a good idea, we might crash again if even the slightest malfunction happens," he said, not getting into his own seat. Ratchet rolled his eyes "Aw, come on. What's the chance of that happening again? Stop worrying so much." "Yeah, come on Clank, it'll be fun!" Circuit said climbing into her own seat. Ratchet smiled and pointed his hand at Circuit "You heard the lady." Clank sighed in defeat as Ratchet grabbed his hand and helped him into his seat in front of Circuit, who looked eager. Ratchet started up the engine, and it roared to life just like before. Clank turned around to look at Circuit "You may want to zip up your jacket, just in case." Circuit nodded and zipped up the silver lining of her zipper cord, closing her jacket around her body. She didn't want to lose it again.

Ratchet looked over his shoulder "You two ready?" Circuit nodded excitedly while Clank nodded with some hesitation. He grinned and grabbed the sled's handlebars "Alright, hold on you two, and...let's go!" The sled raced forward, and it flew off the apartment complex's rooftop. Circuit grasped the bar that was installed onto her seat instantly, her jacket cape and hood blowing behind her. I was almost like the garbage truck all over again. They soared downwards, which made Clank panic for a moment, but Ratchet hit the gas and the flew diagonally into the air. Soon, they were gliding above Metropolis in the clear, sunny sky. "See? Told you that there was nothing to worry about!" Ratchet yelled.

It was a beautiful sight to see the city from high up, but, for some odd reason, Circuit felt somewhat uncomfortable. She was a bit uneasy and she noticed that her fingers were about digging into the metal bar. Her heart was suddenly pumping electricity a lot faster. She looked past Clank and at Ratchet "Uh, Ratchet? Do you think uh...do you think that you could bring this thing a bit lower?" "Lower? How come?" Ratchet said, looking at her over his shoulder. "I just...I just uh...I do not know why," she said, stuttering a little. It took a minute for Ratchet to realize what was going on with her. Still keeping focus on the controls, he half- turned around and smiled "Hah-hah. Correct me if I'm wrong Clank, but I think that our little Circuit is afraid of heights." "What? Come on Ratchet, do not be ridiculous!" Circuit said, placing her chin on her handlebar. "Oh yeah? Look down," Ratchet said pointing downwards. Circuit was glad that she couldn't sweat because that would've given her away immediately. However, Clank was looking at her, and something about his face was telling her to do it. So she took her head off the bar, gathered up all of her courage, took a deep mental breath, then looked down.

Her reaction came as quickly as her action.

She about screamed as she jumped in her seat, then thrusted herself forward and hugged whatever she could grab. Her eyes were screwed shut. When she looked down, it was like they were hovering above an endless abyss that she could fall into at any moment. It had occurred to her that Ratchet might be awaiting a response from her, she nodded and spoke loud enough so Ratchet could hear her "Okay, yeah, I am afraid of heights." "Well, at least you're brave enough to admit it. And admitting fears isn't always easy, so kudos to you Circuit," Ratchet replied. His response was quickly followed by a small snicker "And, uh, I think you're making a certain green-eyed robot a bit nervous." Circuit wondered what he meant by this, but it didn't take her long to remember that she had grabbed onto something after she looked down. Was that thing...?

She slowly looked up, and instantly saw it. Her arms were wrapped around Clank's torso, and Clank himself was wide-eyed and practically frozen. Circuit harshly blushed as she removed her arms from Clank "Clank! I am sorry about that, I was scared, a-and you were the only thing that was close enough for me to latch onto, and-" "It...it is quite alright, Circuit. You were scared and...I was happy to be here to help you through your shock," he said, his voice shaking very slightly. Ratchet, who felt a bit awkward with this whole situation, turned around and focused his attention to what was ahead of him. After a few minutes of gliding (and listening to Clank and Circuit have a conversation about different types of metal alloys), Ratchet took notice of a large building that they were passing. He slowed the sled down "Hey guys, look! It's Qwark's presidential office!" "Qwark? Who is Qwark?" Circuit asked. "I would tell you, but I would end up saying things that Clank will make me regret. Let's just say that he's a galactic hero just like me and Clank."

"Galactic heroes?" Circuit said, very thrown off "You never told me that you were galactic heroes!"

"Oh yeah, we save the galaxy all the time! From chairman and insane robots to evil pets and a mini-Cragmite," Ratchet said.

"He is not lying either. We risk our lives every time a threat shows itself. We never turn our backs on an endangered galaxy," Clank said to Circuit.

"That is so amazing..." Circuit said.

"Yeah...oh hey! I can see Qwark in his office! Let's get a closer look." Ratchet brought the Bombsled lower (much to Circuit's relief) and stopped once they were in front of Qwark's office window. He was in there, wearing the regular green superhero suit, along with a fancier black suit with a necktie. There were a couple of people in there with cameras, and Qwark was talking to someone with a microphone. "I think that he's doing an interview...I'm gonna mess with him," Ratchet said. "Ratchet, don't you dare!" Scolded Clank. "Alright, alright! I won't...but no promises next time."

* * *

The man with the microphone looked at his piece of paper with all the questions on it. He read the first one out loud to Qwark, you was showing off to the cameras by flexing and telling stories about his 'heroic past'. The interviewer cleared his throat, which snapped Qwark back into place. "So, President Qwark-" That's President CAPTAIN Qwark my good man, don't want to disrespect me on the job," Qwark said with a somewhat obnoxious tone. The interviewer rolled his eyes "Alright. President Captain Qwark, even after you relentlessly saved the Polaris Galaxy from the hands of Mr. Dinkles, rumor has it the Doctor Nefarious is still at large, how do you respond?" "Well, after me and my sidekicks defeated the treacherous Mr. Dinkles, Nefarious escaped my grasp at the last second. Oh, and did he put up a fight!" Qwark said with some dramatic hand motions thrown in.

"So, you're saying the Nefarious is still out there? Are you doing anything to look for him?"

"Uh...of-of course I am! I've been looking for the crook ever since he left my sight! Haven't stopped yet!"

"And I also notice that intergalactic heroes Ratchet and Clank are outside your window. Are they helping with the search?"

Qwark looked over his shoulder to indeed see his two 'sidekicks' hovering on a small ship-looking vehicle. "Yes, but they're not looking nearly as hard as I am!" He said, pointing to himself "In fact, I am incredibly exhausted from looking so much. I'm going to start seeing things eventually. I'm already seeing double Clank!" He exclaimed, pointing at Clank and his 'double' "So, I might as well take a nap after this interview." "That's great and all sir, but how are you going to find Nef-" The interviewer was quickly cut off. "I've said this before and I'll say it again. There is no danger. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll take that nap now," Qwark said as he loosened his necktie and walked out the office door.

* * *

"Aw, he left. Alright guys, why don't we head home?" Ratchet said, moving the sled along. "That sounds nice," Circuit said, excited to return to solid ground. "Alright, let's go!" Ratchet cranked up the gas, but the sled didn't go any faster. He tried it again, only to get the same result. Then the sled jerked around a bit. Clank clutched his handlebar "What is happening?" "I don't know. Maybe it's just a malfunction in the-AHHHH!" The sled's motor came to a halt, and the next thing the three knew, they were plummeting towards the ground. Circuit grabbed onto Clank once again as her worst fear was staring her in the face.

It was a bumpy ride down, and Ratchet thought for sure that they were going to crash into a building. But instead, they were met with a pool of water. The sled and its three passengers became submerged underwater. Ratchet, who was now holding his breath, grabbed Clank and Circuit and surfaced within a matter of seconds. He coughed up some water as his ears dropped downwards, the two robots still in his arms. Clank looked mad "What happened? I thought that you said that it was fully functional!"

"Yeah, it was...but..."

"But what?"

"I...may have forgotten to gas it up before we left."

"Ratchet!"

"I'm sorry! I just forgot! We always forget things!"

"Yeah, but-"

"He's right Clank."

Both of them looked at Circuit, who had water dripping off her torso like Clank. "We do all make mistakes...even it they are somewhat ridiculous." "Hey!" Ratchet yelled, but the tone in his voice told her that he wasn't mad. Clank's shoulders dropped "Well...I guess people do make foolish mistakes sometimes."

"Like the time you mistook a robot Qwark for the real Qwark and I had to point out the difference?"

"Ratchet! Not in front of..."

Circuit covered her mouth and choked back her laughter, Clank gave an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his head. Ratchet sighed "Man, all this water is kind of refreshing...hey, Clank, how about we take Circuit to Pokitaru?" "Pokitaru?" Clank said looking up at him. "Yeah, we can't let Circuit just sit here on Kerwan. Besides, after a sled crash, I'm sure that we could all loosen up for a little while," Ratchet replied. "That does sound like fun," Circuit said. "Alright, it's settled then. We'll head out tomorrow."

Ratchet stepped out of the fountain that they had crashed in, his fur dripping with water. "What are we going to do about the Bombsled?" Clank asked, looking at the waterlogged vehicle. "I'll call a tow truck," Ratchet replied, then he walked away with the robots still in his arms.

* * *

"Nefarious escaped my grasp at the last second. Oh, and did he put up a fight!"

"Yeah, keep saying that," said a high and scratchy voice.

"In fact, I am incredibly exhausted from looking so much. I'm going to start seeing things eventually. I'm already seeing double Clank!"

"Double Clank? This man is more a buffoon than I thought. And why did he tell us to look? It's not like we can see the two Cla...wait a minute."

He paused the TV with a baffled expression on his face. He brought the screen closer to his face to get a better look at the lombax and robots in the background. There was indeed two Clanks, there was no mistaking it. Except this Clank didn't have green eyes, it had...

"WHAT?! What is SHE doing with those two?! What is she doing with them at all?! She should be dead!" The man screamed. He couldn't believe what he was looking at, he really didn't want to believe it. He had to get to her, or he had to get someone to get to her. He really couldn't risk going out in public right now. A henchman, he needed a henchman to bring out the deed of getting her. Someone that he could work as some sort of agent. Someone like...

An evil smile formed on his face. He knew exactly the person to do the job. He yelled at the top of his lungs

"LAWRENCE! GET YOUR TOOLS!"

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to type, I fell a bit behind on schedule.**

**People are already telling me that they want Circuit and Clank to be a couple. I actually don't decide on that, I let my readers decide. So, I put up a**

**Poll on my Profile Page asking if you want them to be together or not. Vote if you want to.**

**Next up, the three head to Pokitaru (that's gonna be fun to write).**

**Make to to leave a review (they help a lot) while you pick up a complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was shining ever so brightly on the beach resort planet. The bright blue sky had very few clouds in it. Clank had checked the weather report before they had arrived, it was supposed to be sunny and warm all day. They had picked a good time too, there was supposed to be a storm the next day, but Ratchet was so eager to take Circuit to Pokitaru that he didn't want to wait.

Circuit had never seen another planet before (aside from the garbage place), and she wasn't quite familiar with a beach. It had a very large pool of water and white sand that warmed her feet from underneath. And the wind was refreshing and somewhat salty. If she had a sense of smell, she bet that it would smelled pleasant to her.

It certainly was a beautiful sight, but she honestly had no idea what to do. Ratchet had pulled out a chair and started reading the newspaper, and Clank had settled down next to him, building what looked like a tiny (tinier was more like it) version of himself. "Ratchet stepped on my last one," he explained to her. He must've not wanted this to be destroyed, because he blocked it with his body whenever Ratchet walked by. Circuit, still not quite sure what she should be doing, walked over to a near by parasol that shaded a good chunk of area. Well, it seemed like a good chunk to her, maybe not to Ratchet because he was bigger than her.

She dropped down into the sand, which still felt warm, even in the shade. Looking down at the blank sand, she noticed how it resembled a blank sheet of paper. Her hood swung as she looked in different directions, only to quickly locate a stray stick behind her. She easily pulled the stick out of the sand, placed her cheek on her left fist, whose arm rested on her leg, and started drawing in the sand. Since she had already drawn Ratchet and Clank, Circuit randomly started drawing Aphelion, whom she had rode in for the first time that same day. She wasn't terribly comfortable flying through the cosmos at high speeds, and it had also felt a bit awkward sitting in the same seat as Clank. She also had tried her best not to fall asleep, which would have resulted in a head-laying-on-shoulder thing with Clank. But the view was beautiful, and that was what she mainly focused on for most of the ride.

After a couple of minutes, while Circuit was putting some amazingly realistic details on her Aphelion drawing, a little creature crawled into her field of vision. She peeked upwards to see a small hermit crab with a bluish-white shell. It crawled towards her and onto her drawing. "Hey!" She said as the crab invaded her work. She took the stick she was using and pushed it back a few inches. The crab crawled forward again, only it was getting closer. Circuit, who was getting a bit annoyed, pushed it back again, but the little crab just kept coming back. She was fed up with the creature, so she stood up, grabbed the crab, walked over to where the water was, and set it down. She then placed her hood on her head, the sun was getting in her eyes (and she could have sworn that she saw a touch of gray in the distant sky). But as she put her hood up, the hermit crab started quickly crawling back to her sand picture. "No!" She somewhat yelled and was prepared to chase after it, but something else took care of it. A layer of water flowed in onto the shore and it hit the hermit crab, taking it with the water as it drew back towards the ocean.

Circuit placed her fists on her waists and nodded. But, unfortunately, the tide came back, this time reaching her drawing and erasing half of it. Her fists and shoulder dropped as she watched her artwork disappear. Clank walked up beside her "The tide can be cruel sometimes." Ratchet walked over to the two robots "Hey, I'd back up if I were you. When the tides comes in, usually the bigger waves get carried closer. So you might want to watch out for those." "Ratchet, you know that both of us are quite capable of avoiding-" Clank was cut off by a large splash of water soaking both him and Circuit. Ratchet burst out laughing as Clank put on a very unamused face. He laughed even harder when Clank's chest compartment opened with water pouring out of it. Circuit's hood was now over her eyes. She looked around "Oh my, Pokitaru has quite a short day cycle." Clank lifted the cloth off of her eyes, she looked around once more "Oh, my bad, it is not nighttime. Heh-heh." As she slipped off her jacket and wrung it out, she looked up at Ratchet "So, how often to do you come to this planet?" "Well, we've been coming a lot more ever since we bought this little area along with the beach house," Ratchet replied. A few months ago, he and Clank had had enough of the constant tourists trying to come and meet them as they tried to relax, so they bought the most secluded beach house that was available. And it came with a decent chunk of beach area.

"I remember one time we came here, we had a run-in with a girl named Luna," Ratchet recalled. "A run-in? What did she want?" Circuit asked, not noticing the look Clank was giving the Lombax. "Well, she wanted to see me do some heroic things so she could take pictures for a school project or something like that. But she just turned out to be a robot harboring Technomite soldiers, who worked for the evil Otto Destruct," Ratchet said with several hand motions to depict the scene better. But everything he had just said brought an extremely confused look to Circuit's face. He waved his hand "It's hero stuff, so it's alright to be confused..." he gave a smile and a small laugh "Hey, you wanna know what I offered to do for Luna?" "What?" "I offered to lift Clank over my head." "Really? You can do that?" Circuit said, highly amused because of Clank's expression of both annoyance and embarrassment. Ratchet nodded "Yeah I can! Wanna see?" "What?!" Clank exclaimed. Circuit nodded excitedly "Do it!" "No!" Clank yelled, running away as Ratchet dived for him. Ratchet yelled after him "Wait! Come back! She wants to see it! You are not being a gentleman!"

The last thing Circuit remembered doing was laughing with her mouth covered. Her eyes lighting up brighter than usual due to all the amusement. But then, the sunny sky, the white sand, the orange Lombax and the silver robot, all of it disappeared. It was like she had been covered in a heavy black blanket, and its weight kept pulling her down until she couldn't feel anything. Darkness. That was all she knew at the moment. Pitch black wherever she looked, no more glorious Pokitaru. Feeling positively terrified, Circuit tried calling out to someone, but no voice came out of her mouth, just silence. Silence. It lasted a while. It felt like ages to her. Then came the moment that made the oil in her theoretical veins pump faster. A great red light burst forth from the darkness, ushering in an uncomfortable glow. As the light appeared, a giant sound boomed through the empty area. It sounded like a single heartbeat. Circuit could feel the sound waves vibrating her very being. She closed her eyes tightly and covered her audio sensors. _'Someone please help me!' _she yelled in her mind.

...

...

"Okay, okay, I think she's coming to," said a distantly but familiar voice.

"Circuit? Circuit can you hear me?" Called another familiar voice.

The outlines of Ratchet and Clank came into focus as Circuit's visual components adjusted to her brighter surroundings. She blinked once, letting the two boys above her know that she was now capable of responding. Ratchet placed a hand on his chest and let out a relieved sigh "Oh thank god. You had us freaking out for a moment. I was telling Clank to come back and then you just suddenly passed out, I was a bit scared when you didn't respond." Circuit shifted herself uncomfortably on the hot sand, which she could feel even with her jacket on. Clank grabbed her hands and helped her sit up. She took a moment to brush the sand off of herself before rubbing her head "I have no idea what just happened or why I passed out. My processors are running at full capacity, they would not just fail randomly." "Perhaps you are just tired?" Clank said "Ratchet did wake us quite early this morning, and you did not want to sleep in the ship. Maybe you should rest in the hut over there." Clank pointed to a small wooden hut, which came with the beach land they bought. Circuit nodded, and tried to push herself up, but her legs were very shaky. "Here," Ratchet said quietly as he grabbed Circuit's hand and brought her to her feet. Then guided her to the hut, still holding her little hand.

_'He is holding my hand. Like I am some sort of child,'_ Circuit thought to herself. Ratchet has never held her hand like this. This kind of hand holding felt like that it had a different meaning to it. He wasn't talking or anything, but to Circuit, it seemed like Ratchet was saying _'Don't worry, I got you.'_ There was some sort of new feeling towards Ratchet forming inside of Circuit, and she wasn't too sure what to make of it.

The small wooden hut was fairly small with a large doorway, no door, a long beach chair, a mini refrigerator (which had nothing in it at the moment), and a small table with a pot of flowers on it. There was also a battery powered fan that stood on a stand next to the beach chair in case it got too hot.

Circuit, removing her hand from Ratchet's, observed all the objects inside the hut as Ratchet placed a hand on his side "You know, you really gotta start paying attention to your health. You were in horrible condition when me and Clank found you, and you seem to have been a bit uneasy ever since you woke up on our couch. If you're ever not feeling well, you can just tell me Circuit. I'll always be around to repair a little robot like you and Clank."

_'I'll always be around.'_

These words bounced around Circuit's head. Ratchet was offering his help to her whenever she needed it, he'll always be around. But, will she herself always be around to ask for the help she might need? A thought had been bothering Circuit for a little bit. She liked Ratchet and Clank, they were really nice people. But was it really necessary for her to continue living with the two? Surely she had intruded on their lives when she landed near that dumpster, maybe it was time to let the two return to those lives. She can't live with them forever, nor does she want to. She actually preferred living with them forever, but she knew that she couldn't. She felt like that she had become quite the burden. But how to break her thoughts to Ratchet and Clank?

Circuit turned around and acted like she was interested in the mini refrigerator, when she finally decided that now was the best time to tell him.

"...Ratchet," Circuit said faintly, not facing him.

"Yeah?" The Lombax replied.

"I think that...that I should leave when we return to Kerwan."

"Where are you going?"

"I...I do not know yet."

"Oh, well when you find out, I'll keep the apartment door unlocked in case you come back late-"

"Come back?" She turned around to face the friendly furry face. Ratchet nodded "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't you come back?" "It's just that..." Circuit wasn't sure what either she or Ratchet was saying. She placed her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels slightly "I feel like I have overstayed my welcome." "What?" Ratchet said with a slight sign of amusement "What do you mean 'overstayed your welcome'? If anything, you've understayed your welcome!" "That is very kind of you Ratchet, but I do not wish to be a further burden to neither you or Clank-" He cut her off "I don't think that you're anywhere near being a burden. And I seriously doubt that Clank considers you a burden. Have you _seen_ the look on his face when you're around him?" Circuit blushed, not realizing that it was possible for robots to do that. She thought that it was an internal thing.

She smiled to herself, then looked up to say something to Ratchet when it happened again. The sound of a single heartbeat pounded into her head again. Her vision became drowned in black, but this time it was only for a brief moment. For a second, she could've sworn that she saw a face within the red light. A face that looked like...

"Circuit? Circuit!"

Circuit closed her eyes and shook her head. She was lying in the ground. Ratchet's hand was on her shoulder, and from the look of the unsettled sand around her, he had shaken her body. "Are you alright?" Ratchet asked helping her out "That was the second time in the past ten minutes!" "I do not know what is wrong," Circuit said rubbing her eyes. Ratchet stood up and folded his arms "Maybe the heat's getting to ya. Doesn't seem like you're a hot weather person by the looks of it." She nodded, trying her best to agree with the hot weather theory. She removed her jacket to remove some of the extra heat it was giving her. Then she sat down on a small stool, opening her chest compartment (which she shielded from Ratchet, feeling a bit uncomfortable) and pulled out the little piece of green glass that she had picked up after the Bombsled's windshield broke. While Ratchet and Clank were busy fixing it, she decided to fiddle with the glass shard. She was taken a nail and broke up some parts or the glass to make a shape. She ended up making it look like a green gear, even though it looked rough in some areas. She had decided not to show it to either of the two because of those rough areas, she thought that it looked bad.

Before she could lay another finger on it, Ratchet snatched it from her "Whoa! This is cool! Where did you get it?" "Um...my left and right hand? It came from the windshield of the Bombsled after you broke it-" "I didn't break it!" Ratchet said looking a bit annoyed. Circuit shook her head "You made the windshield fall off and shatter on the floor. Therefore you broke it." "...Okay, yeah, maybe I did break it. I tell ya, you sound so much like Clank sometimes. But this little glass gear is really cool. Why didn't you show it to me sooner?" Ratchet asked handing the gear back to Circuit. "Because it looks bad. So I decided to hide it from the two of you. Look, it is all rough and chipped in an area over here-" Ratchet interrupted her "It doesn't look bad! It looks like a damaged gear, and that's awesome! Like the gear has the knowledge and scars of battle, which is even more awesome! You don't need to beat yourself up over something that you created. Especially since people think that you're work is amazing." "You confuse me," Circuit said with her head tilted. "I confuse many people, but they get used to me eventually. And I know that you will too," Ratchet said patting Circuit on the head.

"Ratchet!" Yelled Clank.

"She's fine Clank! She passed out again but it wasn't as long as last t-AH!" Ratchet covered his face as a harsh wind blew on his face. Circuit even needed to cover her eyes so sand wouldn't blow into them. The two looked at the once bright blue sky. It was starting to get dark, and not the natural nighttime dark. Dark as in dark clouds. They were rolling in fast from the difference, making winds blow harshly at nearby beach.

"I do not understand, why are there thunderclouds?" Circuit said, putting her jacket back on before it flew away. "I don't know. Clank, you said that it was supposed to storm _tomorrow_!" Ratchet said as Clank quickly entered the hut. "I was sure of it! I read the weather report, it said that it was going to storm on the 27th!" "Clank, it IS the 27th!" Ratchet said checking the date on his phone "You read the report wrong!" "Oh...it is the 27th...I am very sorry," Clank said quietly as his head sagged downwards. "Ah, it's alright. Everyone makes mistakes." Circuit could've sworn that she received a small glance from Ratchet after he said that. "Now come on, let's get out of here before this storm gets bad." It had started raining, and it was coming down harder by the minute. Ratchet motioned the two robots to follow him, and they obeyed. But what they weren't prepared for was Ratchet grabbing Clank, and thrusting him in the air above the Lombax's head. "Ratchet!" Clank yelled. "Aw yeah, I've got mad skills! Check out my mad skills, Circuit!" Ratchet cheered, his ears starting to droop due to the rain. "Ratchet, I am getting very wet!" Clank said, trying to pry himself from Ratchet's grip. "You're gonna get wet anyway, so might as well have some fun." The little male robot folded his arms as Ratchet and Circuit walked to the edge of their beach land, where Aphelion was sitting.

Finally safe from the rain, the three attempted to dry off as the cockpit closed over them. Ratchet used a beach towel that he had brought to dry off his large ears, then dropped it on top of Clank so he could use it. "Aphelion, take us back home to Kerwan," Ratchet said, about to activate the ship. _"I am sorry, but due to harsh weather conditions, flying is considered too risky at the moment,"_ the ship responded. "Too risky? It's just a bit of rain!" _"The intense lightning is making takeoff and flying too dangerous." _"Lightning? What lightning? I don't see any-"

**_CRACK!_**

A white lightning bolt flew across the sky, lighting it up like a lamp. Ratchet's shoulders dropped "Oh, that lightning. Alright Aphelion, you win. We'll just chill in here for the mean time." Circuit looked up at the dark gray clouds, raindrops splattering on the windshield. But what fascinated her was the occasional lightning bolt that flew across the sky like an electric shooting star. She thought about making a wish whenever she saw one, but then she realized how silly she would look if she did.

"Hey Clank, look at these lightning bolts, they are beautiful...somewhat blinding, but beautiful...Clank?" Circuit looked around for her male counterpart, only to find him under the towel that Ratchet had dropped on him. "Um, Clank? Why are you under the towel? My sensors indicate that you are no longer retaining water," Circuit said, peeking under the towel. "I am alright, I just uh...I am just..." Clank stuttered. "You just...you are just...what?" Circuit asked, getting the tiniest bit impatient. "I-I...I-"

**_CRACK!_**

"I AM AFRAID OF LIGHTNING!" Clank cried, pulling the towel closer to him. Circuit looked surprised at the sudden outburst. She would have never guessed that Clank was afraid of lightning. That explains why he strongly suggested not going to Pokitaru when a storm was brewing the next day...which turned out to be the current day. Circuit had never actually given Clank's fears a single thought. She herself only had the single fear so far, and that was her fear of heights. Which is one of the most natural fears. But Clank's fear of lightning? There had to be an explanation.

"Come here, pal," Ratchet said, pulling Clank put of his seat. Within the minutes, Ratchet fiddled with Clank's controls, and the robot's brilliant green eyes became dull and lifeless. And then they closed. "What did you do that for?" Circuit asked, already missing Clank's green glow. "It's not me, it's him. I agreed that whenever a storm shows lightning, I'd deactivate him until the storm is over. If I don't, he'll just hide until the storm blows by," Ratchet explained, placing Clank on his left side and pulling him into a side hug. "So...is he sleeping?" Circuit asked, trying to poke at Clank's head. "Basically yeah," the Lombax replied. There were a few minutes of silence after that. Nothing but the sound of the rain echoed through the somewhat small ship space.

"...Are there others like us?" Circuit suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Ratchet replied, a bit taken back from the sudden question.

"Are there others like us?"

"You mean like...like you and Clank?"

"Yes."

"No."

"What?"

"No, there are no others like you two. You could search the entire universe and you'll never find another robot who looks like you."

"None others? We are two of a model?"

"Well...three of a model," Ratchet said, recalling a third robot who looked like Clank and Circuit. "Really? Who is it?" Circuit asked, her curiosity peeking. "His name was Klunk, and he was a very bad robot. Created by an evil robot named Doctor Nefarious, Klunk was meant to help destroy organics so robots could take over the galaxy. I destroyed him years ago," Ratchet explained. "He was a bad robot?" "Yeah, he even disguised himself as Clank by changing his eye color from red to green. And I actually believed that he was Clank. I believed that Klunk was Clank like the idiot I am," Ratchet said as he ran his hand through his head fur (he had removed this pilot cap when they landed). "You are not an idiot," Circuit said "you are just...quick on your feet. You were so absorbed in saving the galaxy that you didn't have time to notice that you were carrying an imposter Clank. Besides, you still got Clank back." Ratchet didn't say anything, but he did give Circuit a certain look. "...What?" "You sound so much like Clank sometimes, it's both amusing and scary." "Well, we are two of a model. What do you expect?" Circuit retorted with a laugh. "I expect you to not leave when we go back to Kerwan," Ratchet said, looking away now. "But...But I do not...Ratchet, I...why? Just...why? Why do you want me around so much?" Circuit stammered. She was genuinely confused. "Because, you're me and Clank's friend. Why wouldn't we want you around. Plus, where are you going to go? I don't want a female pal of mine wandering around on the streets all alone."

_'Friend? Pal? What?'_

_Friend- a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection_

_Pal- a friend_

_'Friend? I am a...a friend? I have...I have friends?' _

"Circuit?" Circuit snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ratchet, who was staring at her "Are you okay?" "Yes, I am fine." "I think that Clank might have been right about the you-being-tired theory. Let's all just sleep the storm out, then we'll leave once it's over. I don't want you passing out anymore." Circuit nodded then laid down in the passenger seat, zipping up her jacket and flipping the hood onto her head. Then, after taking a few moments to get properly comfortable, she shut her eyes and drowned her vision in darkness, except this time she had control of when she was drowned in the dark. The other two times were completely against her will and very much unexpected. Maybe Ratchet was right, maybe she just wasn't a hot weather person. But, if she was just passing out, why did she see red and that...that face? Maybe both Ratchet and Clank were both right. She was probably just warm and tired, which made her see things. Yes, that was it.

After a few minutes, Circuit felt herself finally being pulled into Sleep Mode, but a sudden disturbance pulled her back. She felt something nudging her back, but it wasn't forceful, it was more of a lazy nudge. Before she could see what was doing it, a hand slipped under her side and grabbed her torso, then pulled her out of her seat. The next thing she knew, she was pulled into a side hug by Ratchet. He was holding her like he was holding Clank, right against his side and showing intention of letting go. Circuit looked up at Ratchet, who was basically asleep. Did he know that he was holding her?

Circuit wasn't sure what to do. She had to admit, it was a bit awkward being this close to someone she had known for a short time. But, she couldn't help but feel...what word could describe what she was feeling? A raging storm outside with just a layer of glass protecting her. A warm arm wrapped around her side and holding her comfortably. A kind male equivalent of herself right next to her. After a few seconds, she finally decided on how to describe the situation.

For the first time, she felt _safe._

* * *

The maniacal robot paced back and forth in the dark room. The only light source came from an overhead light that swung on a loose bolt. He looked very impatient, but he was always impatient, so this was normal behavior for him.

"Sir, I have-"

"WHAT?! What do you have?! Is he done?" Nefarious said, shoving his butler aside. He looked at an oil covered, half disassembled robot, who had a glowing red ball in his chest. "I have located a pulse, sir. He lives," Lawrence said, pointing to the red ball that flashed on and off slowly. "Good, very good. Hurry up with the rest of him. I can't have _her _out there with _those two_." Nefarious looked at the body once more, an evil smile forming on his silver face.

"You're going on a special mission when you awaken, Klunk."

* * *

**LONGEST. CHAPTER. YET. I feel very accomplished!**

**Now then, I've run into a little problem. I'm not quite sure what to do next in the story. So if any of you want to help me out with the storyline, feel free to PM me and we'll have a little discussion about what should happen next in the story.**

**And to the Guest who keeps constantly flaming me, your little "jokes" aren't funny. They aren't funny at all. Yes, I messed up on Qwark's part, but you could have pointed it out in a less jerky way. And please refrain from reviewing with inappropriate comments. Any flames or inappropriate reviews will be deleted immediately.**

**Sorry everyone, I just had to tell that Guest some things that were on my mind. **

**Also, I'd like to personally thank CameronNinjaDragons for making the beautiful picture of Circuit. I freaking love it! If any of you guys want to see the picture, go to CameronNinjaDragons' profile and click on the Deviant Art link. Circuit should be one of the first things that pop up. **

**Make sure to leave a review while you grab your complementary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**

**I'm sorry everyone, this was the only way I could communicate**


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't too long a ride from Pokitaru to Kerwan, it was only sunset when they returned. But the three of them were so tired that they decided to go to bed early, even though it was only 6:43 PM. Ratchet and Clank retired to their bedroom while Circuit retired to the guest room, which Ratchet now called her room. Speaking of Ratchet, he found the need to apologize to Circuit for grabbing her in his sleep. But she waved it off, saying that she did not mind at all.

With her black jacket hung up on the back of her desk chair, Circuit took her place under the red covers and closed her eyes, surrounding herself with darkness. She had been concerned about the constant blackouts she had on Pokitaru, but she didn't have one when she was in Aphelion or after they got back, so she believed that it was just the heat. And she had kept her promised with Ratchet, not leaving the apartment and staying put, which put a smile on Ratchet's face.

She laid there, in her bed, feeling quite warm under the comforter. She was a bit worried about what she would dream about, if she was going to dream at all. The past few dreams hadn't been too pleasant. Deciding not to worry about what her dreamtime will bring her, she just laid there in silence, waiting for slumber. After a few moments, sleep finally got a grip on her, and pulled her into it. Turning her mind off and her imagination on. Little did she know, she was not prepared for what would come next.

* * *

_It wasn't all dark this time. For the first time, Circuit was standing on solid ground, and a faint white glow illuminated from the floor. The floor itself was not white, it was a sort of checkerboard design. But instead of being red and black, it was a very faint purple and...red? Why was red mixed in with it? Circuit shrugged it off, anything could happen in a dream, even a purple and red checkerboard floor. It was even foggy, even though it didn't seem like she was outdoors._

_'This is a most peculiar place," she thought to herself "I have never seen a place like it...and who is that?"_

_Out of the grayish-white fog, a black figure stood. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was a featureless figure, with no sign of true body parts, but the thick layer of what looked like to be smoke that emitted from it was making very hard to tell how big or small it was._

_"What is it going to do?" Circuit asked herself. As if it could read her mind, the figure moved itself through the fog without any type of leg movement whatsoever. It was moving towards her, which freaked her out a little bit. The figure seemed to not care for Circuit's reaction as it moved closer to her. Then, it was there. Right in front of her. It's dark face seemed to be looking down at the ground._

_"H-H...Hello?" Circuit said quietly. In one swift move, the figure snapped its head up, and revealed a pair of great big red eyes. And then a great wind blew through the area, pushing all the fog out of the room, only to reveal more darkness. The great wind also knocked Circuit down to the ground, where she gained major pain in her side, right where that great gash had been. She pushed herself up, so she sat down on her bottom, rubbing her side with her right arm. It was then, a hand became visible to her. The figure was offering her its hand to help her up. After looking at the smoky hand, Circuit shook her head "I am fine, I do not need help. Thank you though-AH!" The figure, which now had a left foot and leg, had kicked her onto her back again. Now frightened, she tried to crawl away, but the figure pinned her down with its foot, which was crushing her chest compartment door. "Please get off of me!" Circuit yelled. The big red eyes glared at her, they stared into her soul. Then, the figure grabbed her throat, and used its free hand to make a fist. In a swift move, the fist came flying towards her face and-_

* * *

"OWWW!" Circuit nearly yelled as her body sprang upward. Her vision was drowned in a night-vision state, but it was all red instead of green. Alarmed, she quickly rubbed her eyes with her shaky hands and checked again. Everything was back to its normal color. After taking a moment to grasp onto reality, Circuit spread out her arms and fell down onto her pillow. Ohh, why does this keep happening to me?" She asked herself, rubbing her forehead. "I do not recall ever having a pleasant dream. I keep receiving these nightmares. Did I...did I do something wrong?" She was trying to keep her voice down so neither Ratchet &amp; Clank could hear her distress. She had already moved in with them, she doesn't need to be waking them up at night as well. But she really didn't want to go back to sleep after that dream...

"Oil, I need oil," she said as she gently threw the covers off of her. Ratchet had told her that she could help herself to oil whenever she needed it, and she was going to take advantage of that offer, even if she did feel a bit rude doing it.

Circuit slowly slid onto the floor, landing with a tiny 'clank' noise. Then she crept over to the door, trying to open it as quietly as possible. Not even a creak or squeak came from the opening door. Once the gap was big enough, Circuit slipped through, not closing the door behind her because she will be returning to it shortly. It wasn't a long way from the kitchen, in fact it was only several feet away. Circuit walked as quietly as possible, her calming purple eyes were the only light source she had besides the moonlight filling the apartment. When she reached the kitchen entryway, she turned around and looked down the hallway. No one was coming and there was no sign of disturbance. Nodding over her victory, she quickly turned around, only to run right into a metal surface.

"AH!"

"OW!"

Circuit fell onto her bottom, rubbing her forehead in pain. All she remembered from that split second was turning around, seeing a flash of green light, then next thing she knew she was on the floor and hurting. She looked up and saw Clank, but he wasn't on the floor. He was hanging on to the low refrigerator door handle (Ratchet had installed it after noticing that Clank couldn't reach the higher one), he was shaking his head and his knees were about to buckle. After getting his vision to focus, he quickly realized what had just happened. "Oh dear, Circuit, I am so sorry!" He offered a hand to help her up, which she took graciously. But as she gripped his hand, she could've sworn that she saw the dark figure flash in front of her eyes. Deciding to see it as her imagination, she used Clank's arm to pull herself up. "What are you doing out here so early?" Clank asked. Early? Circuit glanced at the clock, which read 2:14 AM. She turned her look back at Clank "I uh...I just had a weird dream and I just wanted some oil to help get it out of my head." "Hmm, curious. I am out here for the same reason...and you can, uh, let go of my hand now." Circuit, now feeling extremely embarrassed, let go of Clank hand, putting her own hands behind her back.

"So, you had a weird dream too?" She asked, rocking back and forth on her heels slightly.

"Yes," was all Clank said.

"What was yours about?"

"I uh...I would rather not talk about it."

"Why?"

"Because...because it contains things that you may not want to hear."

Truth was, Clank had the dream about the incident at the Great Clock again. Alister's loud voice, the boom of an electric pulse, Ratchet's heartbeat getting slower and slower and eventually falling backwards off the edge. Clank gets these dreams a lot, and he's used to them by now. Sleeping in Ratchet's arms definitely blocked out the effects of the dream. But, if he ever found himself a little too shaken up by it, he simply drank a can of oil and returned to bed, feeling fine.

"Oh...well, I guess not everyone is willing to share things with others," Circuit said with a small smile.

Clank didn't say anything, instead, he just gave Circuit this quizzical look. The constant staring of his green eyes made Circuit's face feel really warm "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" "You sound just like Ratchet sometimes," Clank said, somewhat snapping back into focus. "I sound like Ratchet?" Circuit asked, slightly pointing to herself. Clank nodded "You really do, but not all the time." "Funny. Ratchet said the exact same thing about me sounding like you. How can I sound like both of you?" She asked, her shoulders dropping the tiniest bit. "Well, you share attributes of both me and Ratchet apparently," Clank said. "So...who does that make me?" "Simple, it makes you Circuit." Circuit let out a small laugh as she leaned up against the refrigerator and stared up at the ceiling. She let out a small sigh "I do not want to go back to sleep." "I do not blame you, we did go to bed fairly early. And our dreams may have upset our minds to the point of vague insomnia," Clank said, closing the fridge door. "Well...how about we sit on the couch until we both get too tired to stay awake? We can keep each other company," Circuit suggested. Clank couldn't help but feel warmth fill his face. She wanted to stay up with him? He wasn't too sure how to feel about that. He had been trying to find an opportunity to spend some quality time with Circuit, but he didn't think that the chance would come now. Nevertheless, he agreed with the suggestion by nodding.

* * *

"So...where did you come from?" Circuit asked Clank. After having a seat on the couch, they both sat there in awkward silence. They were so silent that they could hear Ratchet snoring in his room down the hallway.

Clank shook his head, he wasn't paying attention "What?"

"I asked where you came from. Like...where were you built?" Circuit asked again. "Well, I was built in a robot factory on Planet Quartu-" Clank began, but Circuit interrupted "A robot factory? But I thought that we were the only ones of our model?" "We are," Clank continued "but I was a production error. I wasn't built like the other sentry robots that came from the factory line. I am one of a kind...er, two." "Three," Circuit said "Ratchet mentioned a robot named Klunk." A somewhat angry expression came onto Clank's face at the mention of Klunk's name. "What? Was it something I said?" the female robot asked. "No!" Clank quickly said, removing the anger from his face. He cleared his throat. "Continuing our conversation-"

"What is there left to be said? You told me that you were made in the robot factory-"

"I told you where I was born, not where I was made."

"I do not understand."

"You see Circuit, I was born in a robot factory, but I was created somewhere much farther. I was created in the Great Clock-"

"The Great what now?"

"Clock. The Great Clock is a structure located in the exact center of the universe...eh, give or take fifty feet."

"I am still confused."

"I do not blame you, but I will try to tell you as much as I can. The Great Clock was built to keep the space-time continuum safe. And the builder of said clock was a Zoni named Orvus-"

"Zoni?" Circuit asked, her head tilted somewhat cutely to the side.

"Yes, a Zoni is a tiny creature who travels through time and space itself. There are many Zoni living in the Great Clock, with Orvus being their leader."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with you?"

"Well, you see, Orvus was...was my father," Clank said, rubbing the back of his head.

"WHAT?!" Circuit yelled, but she quickly covered her mouth, remembering the sleeping Lombax down the hallway. "Do not worry," Clank said "Ratchet could sleep through one hundred RYNO blasts." "So, this Orvus, did he...did he make you?" "Indeed. He created my soul in the Great Clock, then put my soul into this body. He hacked the computer so I wouldn't look like the big sentry bots that I was originally supposed to look like." "Wow, that is amazing." "Yes, I suppose it is." The awkward silence came again. Nothing but the sound of Ratchet's snoring emerged once more. Then, once again, Circuit broke through the silence "Where do you think I was built?" "What?" Clank said, alarmed about the sudden question. He wasn't really prepared for it. "Where do you think I was built? I mean, I look just like you, but you were created by Orvus. You were supposed to be one of a kind. And I was in a dump, so surely I was a mistake or something like that." "That is indeed a difficult question. There are infinite possibilities of where you could have come from. There is no way that we can be sure." Silence once more, until Circuit said in a quiet voice "...Do you think that the person who made Klunk made me?" "What? No! No, there is no way that Klunk's creator made you!" "Why?" "The person who built Klunk is a very, very bad person Circuit. He is a criminal. A criminal who tried to kill me and Ratchet on several occasions!" Clank's voice seemed a bit too serious to Circuit's liking. She laid her head on the back of the couch "Well, it is like you said, you never know." "I know that it could be possible, I just do not want it to be," Clank said, lowering his voice.

They both had their backs against the back of the couch. They were about two feet away from each other. The will to start a conversation had faded, it was just silence talking now. Neither of them really wanted to get up, the couch had been more comfortable than they had expected. Now it was just a matter of time before they both drifted off to sleep. Clank was ahead of the game, his eyes were already closed, his head turned somewhat away from Circuit. But even though his eyes were closed, he could a feel Circuit's gaze. Then, he felt movement. His mechanical heart pumped faster as he felt a head lay on his shoulder. After a few minutes of what felt like extreme tension, he heard the soft sound of Circuit's extraordinarily quiet snoring.

Clank wasn't too sure what to do. It would be quite rude to wake her up, but he felt panicked with her sleeping on him. He's never felt like this before. Heart quickly beating, oil pumping through his mechanical veins, a hot feeling in his face, it was all basically new to him. Then he remembered the time Ratchet explained some of this to him. Ratchet claimed that when someone feels something like this, it could only mean one thing, and one thing only. And given the circumstances, Clank knew that it was the only logical explanation.

Clank was in love with Circuit.

* * *

**This chapter was for all of you ClankxCircuit shippers (or Clacuit, which my friend HailsStorm came up with).**

**Sorry that this chapter didn't really move the storyline along that much, but much more is gonna happen next chappie, I promise. I actually meant to put a certain part in this, but I ran out of time.**

**And for those of you who PM'd me, thank you for the help. I will try to get back to some of you very shortly.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	8. Chapter 8

Ratchet groaned as he was pulled out of the great thing known as sleep. Waking up wasn't really his thing, especially when people made him get up. Even if Clank tried to wake him up, Ratchet would just push him off the bed. Speaking of Clank...

"Clank, wake up pal. If I get up, you get up...Clank?" Ratchet sat up, darting his head left and right. His robot companion was not present. "Clank? Where are you?" He threw the covers off the bed and onto the floor, no Clank under them. The Lombax slid to the floor and onto his hands and knees, looking under the bed. Still no Clank. Maybe Clank got up and Ratchet didn't notice, which is strange because Clank had developed a habit of sleeping in just like Ratchet, so him waking up early was sort of a mystery.

Giving up on his search, Ratchet exited the bedroom and walked down the hallway. He turned to his left and opened the guest room to see if Circuit was awake yet. Yet, upon entering the room, the only thing he found was an empty bed. He figured that she had gotten up with Clank, but then he located Circuit's jacket, still hanging on the back of the desk chair. This worried Ratchet, Circuit wouldn't go anywhere without wearing that black jacket. She always felt too exposed without it.

Ratchet was now very worried. Clank mysteriously leaving bed and Circuit gone without her jacket, this was definitely not normal. He grabbed the jacket off the back of the chair and rushed out of the room. Who knows where these two could be? They could have been kidnapped, or hypnotized and forced to leave, or...taken by the Zoni. Ratchet shook his head, he did not want to think about that possibility. Especially after getting Clank back fairly not too long ago. And if they took Circuit too, he honestly had no idea what he would do with himself.

Entering the living room, Ratchet glanced at the tiny black jacket in his hand. He remembered when he found it in the garbage alley and how amused he was by it. He actually wasn't sure why he found it so funny, probably because it was so small. And it was even funnier when Clank refused to wear it, even though Ratchet really wanted to see him in it. But, if Clank put it on now, he would just look like a green-eyed Circuit. He actually didn't want to see Clank wear it anymore, Circuit's calming purple went much better with the black fabric over Clank's brilliant green. Yet, Ratchet wondered how he would look with a black jacket his size-

"Ehhh...eh."

That noise nearly startled Ratchet. What in the world was that? It had came from the couch, he knew that for sure. It had also sounded like a female voice. Ratchet walked over to the couch, only to shoot an amused and confused look at what he found. Clank and Circuit, fast asleep on the couch, Circuit's head resting on Clank's chest. At least, he believed that it was Circuit. With their eyes closed, Ratchet couldn't tell which robot was which. But, Circuit, being the girl, was most likely the head-chest-rester.

Ratchet really didn't want to ruin this for Clank, but he believes that it was time for them to wake up. He got on his knees and poked Circuit's head "Hey, wake up. This whole scene is actually kind of adorable and I can't really handle it." Circuit's eyes opened, revealing that calming purple light. She glanced up at Ratchet, who was smiling at her. "Hey, nice pillow," he said. This confused Circuit. She didn't exactly remember much. She adjusted her head, only to be startled by the tiniest 'clank'. Her eyes noticed the metallic surface that her head was on. Then, in nearly a single one millisecond, everything came flooding back in. Her face burned so hot she could've increased the planet's temperature. She jumped two feet backwards, nearly on the opposite side of the couch. This sudden movement awaken Clank, who rubbed his eyes after opening them. "Oh, good morning," he said a bit weakly.

Ratchet, who was on the verge of laughter, handed Circuit her jacket. She quickly put it on, but her embarrassment was so great that she grabbed the hood and pulled it over her eyes to hide her face. Clank looked confused "Is something wrong Circuit? Is it a it too bright in here?" "No, no that's not it," Ratchet said, his voice shaky. "I do not understand, what is she-" And just like that, the memory of the previous night came flooding in just like Circuit's "...Ohh." "Um..." Both Ratchet and Clank turned to look at Circuit, whose face was still buried in her hood "I think that I shall enjoy this nice morning by...by sitting on the roof! Yes, I shall be on the roof if you need me." Circuit quickly hopped off the couch and walked away, bumping into Ratchet's leg. "Sorry," she said, lifting the hood over her eyes. She scurried over to the door and exited the apartment. Ratchet placed a hand on his waist and looked at Clank. the little robot looked back "...What?" "You fancy her, don't you?" he said, now crossing his arms. "What? I have no idea what you are talking about!" Clank exclaimed, standing up.

"Seriously? I can't believe that you are willing to lie about this!"

"I am not lying!"

"Yes you are!"

"You cannot be sure in anyway that I am!"

"Oh yes I can!"

"How?"

"Your antennae blinks twice when you lie."

"...Okay, fine, I am lying. I do...I do kind of fancy Circuit," Clank said, rubbing his left arm shyly. This put a giant grin onto Ratchet's face. He knew it. He knew it ever since he saw the look on Clank's face after Circuit passed out in that alleyway. He knew it when he had was repairing Circuit in the garage and Clank would never take his eyes off of her. The little robot made sure that Ratchet made no mistakes while repairing her. Especially when he started working with her eyes, Clank didn't want anything to happen to her eyes.

"So, what happened last night that led to all of this?" Ratchet asked. Clank explained everything that had happened the night before. The weird dreams, his and Circuit's talk, Circuit casually placing her head on his shoulder, everything. Ratchet nodded in understanding "Obviously she feels something for you. But I'm not sure what. She jumped about three feet backwards when she realized her, uh...'position'." Did she really jump that far?" Clank asked, surprised. "Yeah she did. Anyway, don't rush into anything, alright? One small step at a time...and I don't mean small step as in your size of stride." That did not amuse Clank, he hated it when Ratchet made fun of him for his small size. Ratchet was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. "I'll get it," the Lombax said as he walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ratchet," said a female voice.

"Oh, hey Talwyn. You need something?"

"No, I was just checking in to see if you and Clank are still coming to the space station tomorrow. Wanted to make sure that you weren't off saving another galaxy," Talwyn said jokingly.

"Oh ha-ha. We do more than save galaxies you know. We also repair and upgrade broken spaceships, and we make a lot of bolts."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a fuzzy master of technology with a robot who's also a backpack. So are you two coming or not?"

"I suppose we can stay there for the weekend...but, uh..."

"What?"

"I gotta tell you something...it's not...it's not going to be just the two of us."

"What do you mean?" Talwyn asked, her voice getting a bit serious.

"Well, it's both a short and long story, you see..."

* * *

Circuit placed her cheek on her fist, staring at the pot of flowers in front of her. Ratchet told her that this is one of the most perfect places to grow plants, but there weren't many of them. Still, she loved looking at them. There was this little pot with flowers growing out of them with a beautiful purple and...red coloration. She shook her head, she had never realized how much she hated the color red. The color made her uncomfortable.

She poked at a a single flower that hadn't bloomed yet. It looked so lonely compared to the other flowers. She wished that she could move it over so it could join its...its friends. Friends. That term still puzzled her and she wasn't exactly sure why. Did she even have friends before he lost her memory? She might never find out.

Speaking of friends, a familiar voice came after the sound of an opening door "Circuit! Come here," Ratchet said, motioning for her to come to him. She stood up and quickly came over to him "What?" "We're leaving tomorrow, and you're going to meet some new people. Friends of mine actually," Ratchet said. "What? New people? I...I do not like new people!" Circuit said, somewhat upset. "How do you know? You haven't met them yet! You haven't met anyone outside of me and Clank!" "Exactly, and I would prefer to keep it that way..." Circuit said quietly. Ratchet sighed "Your social skills make Clank look outgoing. Come on, trust me on this. They're nice people. Would I lie to you?" "I do not know, Clank told me that you have lied to him many times." "Don't listen to him, I have a different situation with him We're basically brothers, so it's okay if I lie to him. So come on, you need to get out more anyway!" Circuit stood there, staring at him. Maybe Ratchet was right, maybe she did should get out more. She nodded "Okay, I will go." "Alrighty then. Come on, let's go inside." Ratchet grabbed Circuit's hand, like he did on Pokitaru. Circuit wasn't sure why, but she liked it when he held her hand.

After they left the roof and closed the door behind them. The flower that Circuit poked bloomed, with the slightest purple tint.

* * *

**So this was a bit of a short filler chapter because you all were so eager to see Ratchet's reaction. Better than nothing, right?**

**So yes, they are going to Apogee Space Station, where stuff shall happen. Surprising stuff!**

**Also, this takes place after Full Frontal Assault but before Into The Nexus. So hopefully that will clear up any confusion.**

**And, uh, Clacuit is really popular among you guys...yay!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off! **


	9. Chapter 9

Aphelion soared through the cosmos, carrying her three passengers to their destination: Apogee Space Station, after a some what tough morning. Ratchet had to convince Circuit to get out of bed, since she knew that she was being forced to meet new people, she had pretended t be in a very deep sleep. But she was forced to give up the act when Ratchet grabbed her and held her out the window, saying that she needed some "fresh air" to wake up. Circuit's fear of heights took over and she begged Ratchet to put her down. Clank wasn't happy with Ratchet when he found out what he did, but the Lombax had just shrugged it off, saying that it was all he could think of. Of course, Circuit was never in any real danger. If Ratchet had accidentally dropped her, he would have jumped out the window after her.

Before they had left, Ratchet packed a change of clothes and Clank decided to bring some books. Circuit of course had no possessions to bring with her except her jacket, which she would never leave behind. But, Ratchet knew that this trip might be a bit awkward for her, so he decided to pack a pencil and one of his sketchbooks (in which he uses to draw blueprints for inventions) so she would have something to do.

The little female robot placed her back on the back of the passenger seat, now too sure how to feel right now. Nervous she guessed was the most correct word to use. Nervous about the three people waiting at the space station wanting to meet her. She didn't know why she was so uneasy about meeting new people. That one fateful night in the alleyway, she didn't want anything to do with anyone, people scared her. But, when she two people into her life, she became one of the most happiest robots in the whole universe. So why was she so uncomfortable with letting other people in? Circuit adjusted her jacket, which was sliding off her shoulders slightly. She knew that there was no way around this. Maybe the weekend will go by quickly, she thought to herself. Though she knew that no activity will make time go faster, unless a time travel device existed, which she seriously doubted.

"Circuit!"

Circuit was yanked out her thoughts by a voice calling her name. She had been in so deep of thought that she had nearly forgotten that Ratchet and Clank were there with her. She looked up at Ratchet, who was staring at her. Clank was absorbed in a book, so it must have been Ratchet who had said her name. Besides, why else would the Lombax be staring at her?

"Uh, are you okay? You're face kind of lost emotion for a few minutes," Ratchet said, returning his gaze out the windshield. "I am fine, I was just...thinking," Circuit replied, pretending to be interested in what was outside, which was nothing but stars and planets. "Thinking? About what? Usually Clank is the one who does the thinking," he said, nodding his head at the green eyed robot, who ignored him. "Perhaps I was thinking about you shoving me out a window this morning," she said, crossing her arms. "Hey, would were pretending-don't say that you weren't because I could tell! And I honestly couldn't think of a better way. Besides, you know that I would never drop you. Over all the years of gun holding, I have an iron grip!" Ratchet curled his hand in and out of a fist to show off. Circuit simply smiled and rolled her eyes, then she glanced at Clank. Still reading. Ratchet was right, he was a nerd. But Circuit, as a robot, found intelligent people to be very charmi-

She stopped herself from completing that thought. After remembering the night she had spent with Clank, she did not want to label him as...charming. She did not want to label him as anything, besides Clank. She remembered how embarrassing it was to see Ratchet smiling at the two while head was resting on Clank's chest. When Ratchet had retrieved her from the roof, the two robots couldn't help but feel awkward around each other. They didn't speak about the previous night because neither of them knew what to say. Them having a romantic moment going with them never having a romantic moment before did not go too well. So the two robots just decided to keep their mouths shut about it. Circuit even made Ratchet promise not to talk about it. Of course, he had teased her and said 'no promises', but after getting a stern look from Clank, he promised that he wouldn't say anything.

"Hey, Circuit, Clank. Stop thinking and reading, we're here," Ratchet said, focusing on the ships controls as they were preparing to land. Circuit looked out the windshield. It was a space station all right. Like a floating silver ball sitting in the middle of space, protected by some sort of asteroid ring. It actually looked somewhat beautiful. Now if it just had some purple in it.

Within minutes, Ratchet successfully landed Aphelion in the station's landing bay. The cockpit opened, letting its passengers leave the ship. This was it, Circuit thought, time to meet some new people. Still, she couldn't help but shudder a little, her fists on her knees. It felt as though gravity had become stronger, and it only effected her. Ratchet noticed all of this. He looked at Clank and nodded him off "Go get Tal, we'll catch up in a minute." Clank, though he hesitated at first, knowing what Circuit was feeling right now and wanted to help her, nodded back and exited the cockpit. His tiny footsteps echoed until he left the bay.

Ratchet looked at Circuit, who didn't look back as quickly. Her gaze was halfway between looking at Ratchet's face and her knees. He could tell how nervous she was, Circuit wasn't exactly a people person. After the night in the alley, he wouldn't expect her to be very outgoing. He remembered the look on her face when he offered to help her, she looked absolutely horrified. And she nearly screamed when she "met" Aphelion. She was even scared of Clank, who looked just like her. Something must've happened to her before her memory loss that made her like this. But what in the world did happen?

Ratchet had to admit, Circuit didn't make the greatest first impression when she had slapped his hand at the offer of help. He still had the bruise from it (it was a hard slap!). But, when Ratchet saw the poor robot on the ground, hurling and bleeding, he just had to help. He had to. What kind of person would he be if he just left an injured robot alone? He almost knew once when he walked away from a certain robot with a broken arm. He wasn't planning on doing anything like that again.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ratchet asked Circuit, pulling himself out of his memories. "I think so," was all she said.

"You know Circuit, not everyone is a bad person."

"I know that."

"Then why are you so nervous? There's nothing to be worried about. You're going to love Talwyn, and you're going to love Cronk and Zephyr."

"You do know that I am not a people person..."

"Yeah...yeah, I know. But don't you worry, Circuit. Clank and I will be right next to you, you won't be alone with them."

"...Okay. I suppose we should go now," Circuit said, standing up. Ratchet nodded, getting out of his seat, climbing out of the cockpit and sliding down the ship. He quickly walked over to the other side of the ship, where he saw Circuit slide down onto the wing. She sat down and slid off, Ratchet caught her and placed her on the floor. Then the two set off towards the landing bay exit.

The moment the doors opened all the way, Ratchet spotted Clank, Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr. They were about to come out to the landing bay themselves. Circuit saw them too, which led to her slipping behind Ratchet's leg. She's never seen robots that big, they were at least six times her size. And most likely more than six times her age. And she's never seen Ms. Talwyn's species before. She remembered Ratchet saying that Ms. Talwyn was a "Markazian". Circuit had to admit, she looked like a tall elf.

"Oh, hey Ratchet," Talwyn said, walking up to him. "Hey Tal. So we came, are you satisfied?" Ratchet said with a sarcastic but playful tone. Talwyn put her hands on her waist "Yes, I am satisfied. So, uh...did you bring her?" Circuit's heart jumped. Ms. Talwyn was now referring to her. She didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Stay calm, she thought, you will be fine, Ratchet is here for you. And Clank is...not. Clank was busy walking to who she guessed were Cronk and Zephyr.

Ratchet nodded "Yeah, but," he lowered his voice "she's a bit nervous. Not a people person...er, robot. So be gentle with her." Talwyn nodded in understanding, Ratchet had already told her all of this. He must've really cared to have told her twice. The Lombax looked over his shoulder, peeking at the little robot hiding behind his leg. He nodded "Go on." Circuit grabbed her left arm nervously. She walked halfway from behind Ratchet's leg, where Talwyn spotted her. She gasped "Is this..." Ratchet smiled and nodded once more. She got down on one knee to get a better look at the tiny robot "Wow, what beautiful violet eyes." Circuit surprisingly blushed, no one has ever openly complimented her eyes before. Also, she agreed with what Talwyn said. Her eyes were more of a violet than a plain purple. Circuit was about to say something, but one of the older robots interrupted her.

"Hey, would you look at that! Clank's got himself a girlfriend! Cute one too if you don't mind me sayin', Clank." Circuit's basically turned an extraordinary shade of bright red. Her? Clank's girlfriend? She was in overly-embarrassed mode again, forcing her to pull her hood over her face again. "Zephyr!" Talwyn yelled. Clank's face too was basically bright red, but he looked more surprised then embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head "It is not like that, Zephyr. Circuit and I are friends. We are not in a...a relationship." Circuit couldn't help but notice the slight disappointment in Clank's voice. Did Clank seriously think that...?

Circuit lifted her hood from in front of her eyes "Yes, we are friends. No relationship going on between us." "Sorry about that," Talwyn said, looking at her. "When I told them that Ratchet had found a 'female Clank', they kind of jumped to some conclusions. Anyway, I'm Talwyn...and what are you laughing at?" Ratchet had his fist in front of his mouth, doing his best to conceal his laughter. "N-nothing," he managed to say. "He thinks that it is funny when me and Clank are embarrassed," Circuit answered. "Oh grow up, Ratchet. You've been embarrassed plenty of times before. And what if I spilled those embarrassing things to Circuit?" Talwyn said, crossing her arms. "Oh yeah, what embarrassing things?" Ratchet asked. "Oh I don't know, maybe Circuit would like to know about your Anti-Matter Bathroom Buddy?" "Anti-Matter what now?" Circuit said, looking up at Ratchet. "Nothing! Anti-Matter nothing! Uh, why don't you go hang out with Clank and the others? Off you go!" Ratchet said nervously as he shoved Circuit in the direction of the other robots. The little robot brushed off her jacket and joined the others, who were migrating to another art of the space station.

Ratchet turned to Tawlyn "So, what do you think? About Circuit, I mean." "She seems nice. And she's as adorable as Clank, with her cute little jacket on. But..." "What?" "Ratchet, have you given any thought as to why Circuit exists?" Ratchet was surprised at the sudden comment "What do you mean?" "Well, Clank is a one of a kind robot. So why does Circuit look just like him? Why is there another Clank?" Talwyn's tone was actually quite serious. More serious than Ratchet expected it to be. "I...I don't know. I haven't been giving it much thought lately. But should we really spend the whole weekend thinking about this?" Talwyn sighed "No...no, I guess we shouldn't...but I want to see something."

"And that would be...?"

"I want to see how Circuit fights."

"What?"

"Yeah, I want to see how she fights. I mean, aren't you a bit curious?"

"Well," Ratchet had to admit, he was extremely curious, he just didn't want to admit it for Circuit's sake. But, now that Talwyn brought up, he knew that he wouldn't stop wondering about it. It wouldn't hurt to see how well Circuit could defend herself. "I guess we could take her to the station's shooting range, see how good her shot it," Ratchet said, scratching his ear. "I'm not asking about this because I doubt Circuit, you know that right? She's really sweet and I don't want to look like I'm against her," Talwyn said, grabbing Ratchet's shoulders. Ratchet nodded "I know. You're not one to hate Clanks, even if they're not Clank." Talywn smiled "Speaking of Clank, does he...you know..." "I'd rather not say, because his embarrassment will make me laugh so hard, I'll wet myself. I'm gonna go grab Circuit, alright?" "Alright." And with that, Ratchet turned around and walked in the direction that the robots went.

"Would you look at that! Truly amazin' talent you got there Circuit!" Cronk said. When Ratchet had made Circuit join the male robots, she didn't quite know what to do. Especially when they started talking about different kinds of old war combustors or something like that, she hadn't been paying much attention. So she had whipped out her sketchbook and started drawing Aphelion once more since her previous drawing had been destroyed on Pokitaru. The drawing caught Cronk's attention, and the next thing Circuit knew, she had an audience.

She was about to start adding details to the wings when a knock came to the door. The door opened and Ratchet entered the room "Hey guys, I need to borrow Circuit for a little bit." "What for?" Clank was the one who asked, not Circuit, which caught Ratchet off-guard. "Talwyn just wants to know some things about her," Ratchet said, somewhat telling the truth "So come on Circuit." "I cannot right now, I am working on a drawing of Aphelion," Circuit said, returning her focus to her drawing. "Nope, right now, no avoiding Talwyn," Ratchet said, putting his hands on his waist. "I am not avoiding Ms. Talwyn, I just want to finish this-oh my gosh!" Ratchet grabbed Circuit and hoisted her over his shoulder, only holding her by an ankle. "Hey, where are yah goin' with her?" Zephyr asked. "Don't worry about it, we're just gonna...talk to Talwyn. She wants to get to know Circuit. I'll bring her back afterwards, alright?" That last line was more directed towards Clank, because he was giving the Lombax a certain look that said 'you better not keep her with you and Ms. Apogee'. Ratchet left the room, with Circuit still over his shoulder. He turned and started walking down the hallway towards their destination.

"Ratchet, where are we going?" Circuit asked from her hanging position, which wasn't one hundred percent comfortable. "To the shooting range. You're going to shoot a gun," Ratchet replied happily, looking over his shoulder. He saw the look on Circuit's face, she didn't look very happy with what she just said. "Shoot a gun? Why would I want to do that?" She asked with a curious tone. "Because," Ratchet hoisted her back over his shoulder and held her in one arm "me and Tal just want to see what you know combat wise."

"Combat wise?"

_Combat- fighting between armed forces. Take action to reduce, destroy, or prevent (something undesirable)._

Her eyes widened. To destroy or prevent something undesirable. She didn't like the sound of that, she didn't like the sound of that at all. Why did Ratchet and Ms. Talwyn want to see her fight something? Or someone? She doesn't recall ever showing signs of hostility towards anyone. This whole idea brought a stressful surge to Circuit's chest.

Circuit shifted uncomfortably in Ratchet's arm "Why do you want me to fight something?" "Well...we, uh...we just want to make sure that you can protect yourself. What if me and Clank are out and someone breaks into our apartment? Or what if one of our enemies captures you? You need to know how to beat the crap out of a bad guy." "I guess that makes sense. I do not know if I had any fighting skills before I lost my memory," Circuit said. That bothered Ratchet. He didn't like it when Circuit talked about what her life might have been like before her memory loss.

He and Clank had discussed one night, the night when they found Circuit, where she might have came from. They were hoping for an answer in the morning when she woke up, but when finding out that she couldn't remember where she came from, disappointment rushed over the both of them. Yet, their theories went from a crazy fan invention to a super secret government project that held the answers to the meaning of life (Ratchet was very tired that night). But, one theory stood out from the rest for Ratchet. One that was the most plausible was the one that they resented the most. The theory that a villain created her. A certain insane robotic villain. Clank literally refused to accept that the theory was true, but there was much evidence to support it. So whenever Circuit talked about her faulty memory, a certain evil laugh echoed through Ratchet's ears.

A question popped into Ratchet's head. One that might help eliminate some theories.

"Hey Circuit."

"Yes?"

"How old are you?"

"You want to know my age?"

"Yeah."

"May I ask why?"

"I'm...I'm just curious."

"Oh, uh, alright."

Circuit paused, her attention leaving Ratchet for a few moments. The Lombax looked at her face as her gaze disappeared. After about ten seconds, Circuit's eyes became full of life again. She looked up at Ratchet. "According to my database, I have been alive for eight years." Ratchet nodded. Eight. Circuit is eight years old. Usually age doesn't matter for a robot, since their bodies never change with it. But Ratchet was only asking about Circuit's age to trace events that happened when she was built. Clank was one of a kind, a production error, so she couldn't have came off a factory line. She had to have been handmade by someone.

Then it hit Ratchet. What was going on eight years ago? Doctor Nefarious was threatening to turn all organics into robots with the Biobliterator. Also, he built Clank's evil clone, Klunk. So was it possible that Nefarious also made...

No, Ratchet thought. There is no way that an evil and insane robot like Nefarious built something as sweet and sensitive as Circuit. There was no way, Ratchet would not believe it. Besides, Secret Agent Clank was very popular at the time, so some fan could've tried to build their own Clank, but failed and threw it away. That was the theory Ratchet wanted to lean towards.

But he didn't want to think too much about it. Circuit's past didn't really matter right now. hat mattered is what she's going to do in the future.

And Ratchet knew that she was going to do great things.


	10. Chapter 10

"I have brought the requested robot!" Ratchet announced overdramatically as he entered the shooting range, Circuit still in his left arm. The shooting range was a fairly large room, with targets on one side and a large rack of weapons on the other. Of course, shooting wasn't the only thing people could do in there. There was also an option to test your skills in hitting moving objects by summoning a target robot. It would move around the room, so people could see how fast they could react to the robot's movement. Then there was a new feature that Talwyn had installed just a few months ago. It was a program where you could upload a hologram of someone into the room. This helped people with memorizing their real opponent's attacks and patterns. If shot or hot enough times, the hologram will break from its field and return to the database.

"Heh, how do I know that that's not Clank?" Talwyn asked, playing with the hologram database. She was looking through different holograms that they had registered. Qwark, Doctor Nefarious, different alien species, even Ratchet and Clank had their own holograms. Ratchet had once tried to fight Clank's hologram, but he couldn't hit it. It had felt too real to him. "You want me to prove that this isn't Clank? Alright," Ratchet thrusted Circuit over his head, which made her laugh. Talwyn gave in, Clank hated it when Ratchet held him over his head. So if this robot was Clank, it would have been scolding Ratchet, not laughing in amusement. "Alright, I believe you. It's Circuit," she said, folding her arms and smiling. "Ratchet said that you wanted to see me fire a gun," Circuit said after Ratchet put her down. "That's right. It's nothing bad, I just want to see what skills you have," Talwyn' replied. "Skills? Give this little girl a pencil and paper and she'll blow your mind," Ratchet commented "Now come on Circuit, let's show Talwyn what you can do." "Oh, okay," Circuit agreed, not expecting them to want to see it that fast. Ratchet led her out of the range's control room and out into the range itself.

Circuit immediately spotted the large rack or weapons. Blasters, bombs, gloves, swords, she had never seen so many weapons. "How many weapons do you guys need?" She asked. "When you're constantly saving the universe, a lot," Ratchet replied. "I never knew that there were so many guns and stuff like these," the little robot said, trying to get a look at all of them. "Yeah, well, technology has advanced in many different and destructive ways. Now then, let's pick you out a weapon-" "Ooh! Ooh! Can I use this one?" Circuit pulled a giant metal wrench off the rack and stumbled backwards. It was much heavier than she had expected it to be. She lost her balance and fell onto her bottom. Ratchet laughed "No, you can't use a weapon that you can't lift. Besides, this is mine actually. It's my main weapon, my Omniwrench." "This is yours? You carry a big wrench around with you?" "Yes, I do. And it's saved many lives, including mine," Ratchet said, removing the Omniwrench from Circuit's hands. "You will be using this," he handed her a smaller blaster, which was about the size of her arm. She hesitated at first, but she took it into her right hand "This is your standard blaster, I got it on Kerwan a while back. I think that this should work for you just fine. Come over here, we'll get you set up with a target. And keep your finger off the trigger please. I don't want you to shoot me or yourself in the foot."

Ratchet led her to the shooter's position, the place where the shooter stands so they can blast away at their target. Circuit placed her little feet in the right spot, Ratchet placed a hand on her shoulder as he got down on one knee. "Alright, you see that white paper with the black rings on it?" "Yeah." "That's what you're going to shoot at. And your goal is to hit the very center of it-" "Like this?" She held the gun up and fired, the force of the blast nearly knocked her off of her feet. The plasma bullet soared across the room and grazed the very edge of the target paper, then hit the wall. "...I missed," Circuit said, her shoulder's lowering. "Well yeah, you don't just go into it like that. Look," he grabbed her hands while the gun was still in them. "Lift it to about this level, keep it there...good, now relax your shoulders like you're doing now. Now focus and...fire!" She pulled the trigger, but she still missed, putting half a hole on the edge of the paper. "That's okay, practice makes perfect. Try it again." Another shot, this one pierced the very edge of the target. After a few more shots, she was hitting the target more often, but none near the middle.

"Hey, you're getting good at this," Ratchet said, somewhat proud of Circuit. She was getting really good really fast, faster than he had expected. He placed a hand on her head after she fired the next shot, with also hit the target "I'm gonna go talk to Talwyn. You keep shooting, alright?" "W-wait, how long are you going to be out of the room?" Circuit asked, putting her blaster down. Ratchet shrugged "I dunno, I'll just be in the other room." "But I shoot better when you are with me," she said a bit shyly. "Don't worry, I'll be right over there. Call me if you need me...or if you shoot yourself in the foot." Circuit nodded, carefully pointing the gun away from her foot. Ratchet left her and entered the range's control room, where he saw Talwyn giving him some sort of look.

"...What?"

"How long have you known her?"

"Who? Circuit?"

"Yeah."

"Um, I've known her for...about six days."

"Six days?!" Talwyn exclaimed with surprise in her voice. "What? What's wrong with six days?" Ratchet asked, holding up his hands as some sort of shouting defense maneuver. "Ratchet, this robot adores you! And you've only known her for six days? If I were a random person, I would have guessed that you've known each other for months, even years!" "Well, I did take her in when she had nowhere to go. She was scared and I couldn't just ignore her. I guess she realized how much I cared for her," Ratchet said, watching Circuit through the window. "You treat her like she's your child or something-" Talwyn began, but the Lombax quickly interrupted her. "Whoa whoa whoa! Let me just stop you right there. Look, I do like Circuit, she's really nice and has a sense of adventure like me, which I respect. But, I don't really treat her like my child. Sure, I took her in, fixed her up a little-" "And fed her, and took her for a ride on your Bombsled which you added a seat to just so she could ride on it, you took her to the beach, and I hear that you hold her hand like she's child. Still think that you don't treat her like your own?" Tawlyn said, crossing her arms. Ratchet shook his head "Okay, one: no, I do not treat her like my own. And two: how did you know all of that?" "What? You think that Clank didn't say anything to me when you got here?"

'Imma kill him!' Ratchet thought to himself. He decided to change the fatherly/not-fatherly subject and back to just the Circuit shooting subject. "So, what do you think? She seems like she's getting pretty good." Talwyn rolled her eyes at the attempt of subject change, but she went with it anyway "Yeah, she's a pretty good shot. Should we move on to the moving target?" "I dunno, do you think she's ready for that?" Ratchet asked, somewhat concerned. "You tell me robo-daddy," Talwyn replied, smiling at him as she tapped on the database controls. This brought an unamused look on Ratchet's face "...Send out the moving target." The Markazian laughed as she set up the moving target. Circuit was taking a break from shooting at the moment, sitting on the floor with the blaster right next to her. "Let's get her by surprise, test her reaction time," Talwyn said. Ratchet nodded in agreement. After a few clicks, she pressed a certain button, and the sound of a metal door was heard.

Circuit laid back a little, putting most of her weight on her palms as they pressed against the floor. Shooting was more tiring than she thought. She had come close to hitting the center of the target a few times, but she missed it by a few centimeters each time. She looked left and right, wondering when Ratchet was going to come back. The little robot didn't know why, but she felt more comfortable shooting when he was there supervising her, giving pointers on how to approve her aim if she needed them.

As she sat on the ground, a weird noise started to fill the room. She perked up at the sudden noise, what was it? It almost sounded like it was something opening, a door perhaps. Circuit looked around to find the source of the sound, a bit worried. When she decided to go and find Ratchet to see if he could find the source, a fairly tall robot wheeled into the shooting range. It's eyes shining blue, but it had no emotion in them. It wheeled towards her, making her give a little scream. She quickly grabbed her gun and started shooting at it, not even taking time to aim. She was terrified, like she had been in a situation like this before and it didn't end well. A large robot, no emotion on its face, coming straight towards her, it felt all too familiar for her liking. So she just kept shooting, hoping that the strange robot wouldn't get her.

"Whoa, wasn't expecting a reaction like that," Ratchet said, watching Circuit shoot randomly at the robot. "She looks terrified, she does know that these robots don't attack you, right?" Talwyn asked. "No, I don't think she knows that. But it's weird, she reacted so badly towards it without even checking if it's hostile or not." "Who knows? Maybe robots used to attack her all the time in her uh...previous life." "Yeah...previous life," Ratchet said, now drifting into thought. Now he was more curious than ever. Did robots actually attack her in her previous life? No, that's stupid, Ratchet thought, who would want to attack her? Unless Nefarious-

'There I go again!' Ratchet said to himself 'Talking about Nefarious creating Circuit! He did not. He could not.' But still...there was something Ratchet could do to make sure. He had to admit, this idea was kind of cruel, but Circuit wouldn't be in any danger. It couldn't truly hurt her. He nodded to himself, then he turned to Talwyn.

"Tal, do we have Doctor Nefarious in our hologram database?" Ratchet asked. The Markazian checked the holograms in the database "...Yes, we do. Right here with his ugly metal face. Why?" "Because...I want to try something."

Circuit was still shooting at the robot, occasionally hearing the sound of metal bullets hit metal. 'Please go away!' She said to herself. After a few seconds, her wish came true. The robot scurried away, back through that it had came from. Circuit couldn't believe it, she managed to scare it away. That was her goal anyway, she didn't have any intentions on killing it.

Circuit was about to go back to shooting her target when something she did not expect happen. A few peculiar green particles flew from several different parts of the room. they were beautiful, like little pieces of sparkling glass. She stood there, watching the particles fly around the room. Then, the particles came together in the center of the room, forming some kind of vortex. They kept spinning and spinning until, eventually, they started linking themselves together. Circuit became even more curious. What were these particles making? By the looks of it shape, they were trying to form a person. Someone tall, with somewhat thin arms and legs, what looked like sharp claws, and a tall head. The figure started to gain color: blue, silver, green, red. Finally, the figure became fully formed, and it jumped to the ground. Circuit looked at its face, silver with...with black and red eyes...and a large...large green head-

Something clicked in Circuit, random memories began flashing before her mind, so quickly is made her dizzy. A thick wave of terror washed over and drowned her.

_"Let me see! Let me see!" Yelled a distinctly familiar high voice. A much taller figure formed above, the the face or details could not be made out. It looked closely, then turned sharply to look at the other figures "What the-IDIOTS! You got the eye color wrong!" The tall figure grabbed one of the smaller ones and thrusted it forward "Does THAT look green to you?!"_

_"I'm sorry sir! So sorry! But..." the voice drifted off._

_"But what?!"_

_"B-b-but...I uh...I don't think that the eye color is the only thing we got wrong..."_

_"What? What are you...oh...ohhh...NO!"_

_"I've about had enough of you...kill her!"_

_"No! Leave me alone! No! NO! AHHHHHHH!"_

The familiar yet unfamiliar face spotted Circuit, then started walking towards her. Circuit held up her gun, her mechanical heart pumping at an unhealthy level. "Get away from me! Get away from me!" She pulled the trigger multiple times, but her pressured shots kept missing, soaring over the blue and silver robot's shoulders and head. Ratchet and Talwyn were watching, completely caught off-guard by her reaction to the hologram. The little robot gave a frustrated and scared groan as the robot got even closer, now holding out his hand to grab her. She saw the shard claws reaching for her torso. "STAY AWAY!" She grasped her gun as hard as could, until the most unexpected thing happened. Upon her tight, frightened grip, the gun began to glow. It began to glow white with a purple tint. Until the gun;s form began to grow. It kept growing until it was about twice its size. The glow faded away, only to reveal a beautiful gold surface. Ratchet and Talwyn were staring at the whole scene, paralyzed by both amazement and confusion. Ratchet was especially amazed, he managed to say three things "What the f-"

Circuit looked away as she pulled the trigger on the Gold Blaster. It fired on large shot, which went right through the robot's torso. Little green cracks formed all over the robot, then it shattered into shards like glass, which turned back into the little particles and flew back into the database.

Circuit stood there, shaking. Her heartbeat slowed down a little bit, but it was still beating very fast and very hard, so hard that it hurt her a little bit. She saw the large Gold Blaster in her hand, which she threw to the ground, making it glow and revert back into its normal form. The sudden glow frightened the little robot even more. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. Ratchet and Talwyn rushed out of the control room. "Circuit!" Ratchet yelled as he rushed to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked, about to touch her shoulder. Instead of an answer, Circuit turned around and buried her face into Ratchet's shirt, tears, which were like brownish water, rolling down her face. "Please do not make me do that again!" She said through her sobs. "No, no, you're done. You don't have to shoot another gun," Ratchet said, taking her in his arms. He felt terrible. He didn't expect any of that to happen, he just thought that she would destroy the hologram, end of story. But no, much more happened. And the Blaster...she somehow made it upgrade into the Golden Blaster. How in the world did she do that? Though she didn't seem that she was in the mood to talk about it, he asked her anyway "Circuit...how did you make the blaster upgrade itself?" "I...I do not know," she replied, still sobbing. "Oh..." Ratchet said, with more disappointment in his voice than he intended. "I am sorry that I cannot tell you," Circuit said, looking up at him. "No, it's alright. Now calm down, calm down," he said as he felt Circuit's shaking. He looked up at Talwyn, who also had a sad face. "Come on, I'll take you to your room," Ratchet got a better grip on her and picked her up. "Can I just ask for one thing?" "Of course." "Do not let Clank see me like this." "No, no he's not going to see you...I promise."

Ratchet and Talwyn took Circuit to her quarters, making sure that neither Clank, Cronk, or Zephyr saw her. Circuit had calmed down a lot when they arrived. Ratchet asked her if she wanted him to stay there with her, but she said no. It's not that she didn't want Ratchet around her, she just didn't want him to waste his time with her. So, she picked up a book and started to read it when Ratchet looked back at her, making it look like she was doing something.

**Several hours later**

Circuit's door opened, and a very familiar Lombax popped in. He smiled at her "Okay then, you're not dead. I'm going to bed, you need anything?" Circuit shook her head "No, I am fine. You and Clank have a good night." "Actually, Clank isn't staying in my room. He got his own room so he can stay up late reading books, and I can't sleep with a lamp on." Circuit simply smiled and nodded, then returned to her book. A question had formed in her mind when Ratchet said that Clank won't be accompanying him to his room, leading to an embarrassing request of her's. But she looked away before she could ask, because she knew that he would say no. Ratchet walked over to her "You sure you okay?" "I am fine Ratchet, really. Just a bit tired." The Lombax stared at her for a second, then shrugged "Alright, if you say so." He walked across the room, about to leave. Circuit wanted to ask her question, but she was afraid of the answer. But, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Um...R-Ratchet?" Circuit called out for the Lombax quietly. But with his big ears, Ratchet had no problem hearing the little robot call his name. "Yeah?" Ratchet said, stopping at the door. "I...I was wondering..." Her voice trailed off, this was more embarrassing than she had predicted it to be. Ratchet was now fully turned around "What?" Circuit shifted uncomfortably. She could feel her face starting to warm up. She was nervous about what his response would be to her request. Would he laugh? Would he say no? "Well, it is just that...if you do not mind...can I uh..." He's going to say no, turn back while you still can. "Since Clank is not...since you are..." You've only known him for a week, he is not going to say yes. "What is it?" Ratchet said, somewhat impatient. Circuit noticed how irritated he was becoming. She sighed and lowered her head slightly "I uh...uh...nevermind."

Ratchet grinned a little. Circuit was too embarrassed to ask him. It was just like the night when Clank told him that the nightstand in their room wasn't very comfortable and Ratchet offered him a spot in his bed. The look on Clank's face had made him laugh. It was a mixture of happiness and embarrassment. Ratchet nearly laughed just thinking about it. But...this time was different. Ratchet didn't laugh or tease Circuit about what she wanted. She had just been scared to tears by a hologram. And that gun that she used...how in the world did she do that? It was a complete mystery. But none of that mattered right now, it was time for bed and Circuit didn't look like she was up for sleeping in a room by herself. It had been a rough day. He gave her a look "Are you asking me if I'll let you sleep in my bed?" "Uhhh..." was all she replied with, that and a single nod. Ratchet smiled even more. He knew it. "...Alright. Come on." What? Really? You do not mind?" Circuit said, her eyes full of hope "Because I do not wish to be a burden." "No, I don't mind," Ratchet replied, walking over to the bed and picking Circuit up. then walked over to the door "And stop calling yourself a burden. Your being a burden to me is like saying that frosting a burden to cake. And I'm talking, like, cream cheese frosting, the good stuff!" "You still confuse me," she said. "You confuse me," Ratchet said, looking down at her. She laughed at him.

Ratchet set Circuit down on his bed. She scooted over near the edge of it, so when Ratchet laid down, he could have some room. The Lombax stretched and yawned as he walked towards the door again, but this time he turned off the lights. The only light source in the room were Circuit's eyes, which Ratchet used to locate his bed. He laid down, covering himself up with the soft comforter. He looked at Circuit "Need any blanket?" She shook her head "No, I am good. Look." She removed her jacket from her body, then used it like a blanket. Ratchet gave her a look "I don't think so." He took a corner of his blanket and threw it over Circuit. It went over her head and it took her a minute to find her way out of it. When she surfaced, she noticed that Ratchet was laughing at her. She smiled and rolled her eyes. Then, her face got a bit more serious. Out of nowhere, she asked "Ratchet, that thing that I destroyed at the shooting range...was that the Nefarious person you were talking about." Ratchet's laughing seized immediately when asked that question. He nodded "Yes, that was Doctor Nefarious." "I thought that I recognized him. Maybe he was the one who built me. Maybe he-" A fuzzy hand to the face stopped her "Circuit, please, I don't want to talk about this. The last thing I want to think about is if Nefarious created you. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you're here with us now. So even if Nefarious did make you, he can't get to you now. And we're going to keep it that way." He didn't get an answer, only a few laughs. He looked amusingly confused "What's so funny?" She placed a hand on the back of Ratchet's hand, removing her face from it. "You're soft," she said in between a few giggles. "Oh my gosh, you're right. It's almost like I'm a giant cat or something," Ratchet said, gazing at his hand dramatically. Circuit covered her mouth and laughed, Ratchet laughing along with her. He just had to admit it, he loved this little robot. "Alright, come on now we're both tired, let's get some sleep," he said. "Okay," Circuit replied with a nod of her head. Ratchet smiled at her, then closed his eyes to get to sleep.

Within several minutes of darkness, Ratchet was finally ready to drift into slumber. Until felt felt some sort of disturbance on the bed. Then he felt metal on his chest, followed by faint snoring. Circuit had fallen asleep right next to him, and he meant RIGHT next to him. It was weird, some times Clank would do the exact same thing. He felt the need to turn over, but Circuit looked so comfortable. So, instead of waking her up, he simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her like a robotic teddy bear, and started doing some faint snoring himself.

Circuit had no nightmares that night.

* * *

"Sir, the commandos are ready, where shall I deploy them?" Lawrence asked as he walked into the room. "Eh, I don't know, surprise whatever planet citizens you want. Pick a peaceful one so they can't fight back though," replied Nefarious. "Planet Lumos it is," said the butler "and you want them to take the specific target?"

"Yes, I need answers. So many answers. If she's alive, I want to know why and how. And what she's told to who."

"I will deploy the commandos immediately. And what shall we do with him?"

"I'm saving him for a certain little girl. I'm sure that they'll be positively ecstatic to see each other. And then, when he has her trust, BAM! She'll be back on our side!"

"I don't recall her ever being on our-"

"SILENCE! Now go and send out those war machines, I'm getting impatient!"

"Yes sir," the butler scurried out of the room. Nefarious grabbed a TV remote and turned on the nearest screen, which had a still frame of a little purple eyed robot on a Bombsled with a certain Lombax and green eyed robot. "I'm coming for you my little accident!"

* * *

**EVEN. LONGER. CHAPTER. HOLY. ORVUS.**

**If you are having a hard time handling the cuteness and surprising sh*t in this chapter, there's a Feels Hospital two miles from here.**

**So, the cuteness between Ratchet and Circuit is nearly over, and the wave of Clank and Circuit cuteness is almost here!**

**Make sure to leave a review (please!) while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	11. Chapter 11

The sound of a tiny voice woke Ratchet up from his slumber. His vision was awfully blurry when he opened his eyes, the only thing he could make out was a something gray, which was right next to him. Lazily, he propped himself up with his elbow and rubbed both his eyes, yawning quite a bit in the process. He could make out his surroundings now, the gray thing right next to him was the tiny little robot known as Clank. He was about to tell him to wake up, but before he grabbed the robot's shoulder, he remembered something. This wasn't Clank, it was Circuit. He was just so used to waking up with Clank, and having a double in his bed didn't throw him off one bit. He could never tell the robots apart without seeing their eye color.

Ratchet looked down at Circuit. She was still sound asleep, and the voice that woke him up belonged to her. Small murmurs were coming from her mouth, she would twitch a little every now and again. She was dreaming. Honestly, Ratchet could watch her do this all day, he found it to be quite amusing. But, when he read the time on the clock, 10:08 AM, he decided that it was definitely time to get up. But he would let Circuit sleep in a tiny bit more, he didn't want to interrupt what looked to be a pleasant dream. So he carefully got out of bed, trying not to disturb the little robot. Once he stood up, he stayed still for a moment, just to be sure. Circuit didn't move, except with the tiniest twitch. Ratchet sighed, re-covered her with the blankets, then went on to get dressed.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Ratchet felt more awake. He had brushed his teeth and washed up a bit before getting dressed. Well, mostly dressed, he didn't have his harness on. And if he forgot to put that on, he and Clank (mostly Clank) would be screwed if something suddenly attacked the space station. But, before he went and got the harness, he thought that it was about time to wake Circuit up, so she wouldn't be too tired when they leave the room.

"Rise and shine Ms. Violet Eyes," Ratchet said, walking over to the side of the bed, where the tiny robot was sleeping. She was in a halfway fetal position, her black jacket still covering her like a blanket, even though she was also covered up by the bed's comforter. Ratchet's voice had made her move her head slightly and make a tiny moaning sound. Then her face slipped deeper into the pillow. Ratchet grabbed the comforter and pulled it, making it go flying off of Circuit's body. Circuit curled up into a ball as a reaction to the sudden coldness. Her jacket kept her warm enough, therefore, she didn't get up. Ratchet sighed and got to his knees so he could be more leveled with her "Alright, I give up. One nudge to the arm and Clank is up for the rest of the day, I get up, tell you to get up, pull the covers off of you and you're still not moving." The only response he got was another moan, and Circuit pulling the jacket closer to her for more warmth. The Lombax stuck his tongue out at her and flicked her antennae. Then he got up and walked over to a coat rack, where he had hung up his harness the previous night. He was about to grab it, when he heard laughter behind him. He turned around to see what all the laughter was about, but the only thing he saw was Circuit, who was in a fit of giggles.

"What are you laughing at?" Ratchet asked as he walked over to her. He noticed that she had a hand on her antennae. He got back on his knees and reached for the little bulb on top of her head "Something wrong with your antennae? Cause I can-" "No! Do not touch it!" Circuit yelled through her laughter, right as Ratchet lightly touched the little red bulb "A robot's antennae is very sensitive at times. Mostly within the hour after they wake up." "Huh, so that's why Clank keeps his distance from me every morning..." Ratchet said "but none of that explains why you're laughing. What does sensitivity have to do with-" He stopped for a mid-sentence realization. A grin formed on his face, then he looked down at Circuit, who only offered a purple eyed face full of curiosity. "You're ticklish," Ratchet said. "What? I am not! It is not possible for a robot to be ticklish." Circuit replied, sitting up, her jacket draped over her shoulders. "Oh yeah? So if I do this, you won't feel anything?" Ratchet grabbed Circuit's ankle and tickled her foot. The little robot nearly burst into laughter if she hadn't covered her mouth just in time. "St-stop it! Please!" She managed to say through her laughs. "Are you gonna get up?" Ratchet said trying not to laugh himself. "Yes! Yes I will g-get out of be-bed! No m-more tickling!" "Alright, fine," the Lombax said, releasing Circuit's ankle. She got the rest of her laughs out, then stood up on the bed and crossed her arms "Please do not do that again." "No promises," Ratchet teased. He flicked her antennae again, making her giggle again.

The two exited the bedroom to meet an empty hallway. They assumed that they were the last ones up and everyone else had gone off to do their own thing. Ratchet shrugged "Guess we're the last ones to get out of bed. You hungry?" He asked Circuit, who was adjusting her jacket sleeve. She looked up at him and nodded. she hadn't drank or ate anything since yesterday morning before they left. The events of yesterday made her stomach tighten up, making her appetite vanish. Now she was mostly over it and she realized how hungry she was. "Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen," Ratchet said, motioning her to follow. Circuit nodded again and walked up next to him.

After a few moments, Circuit let out a large yawn, then rubbed her right eye. Ratchet looked down at her "You're still tired? We slept for, like, eleven hours!" "My systems are still rebooting. They activate a bit slower after I wake up. That it the case for most robots," she replied. "I can carry you if you want me to," he said. "That is not necessary, but thank you for the offer." After that reply, Circuit started thinking about something.

Back on Pokitaru, when she had started passing out, Ratchet had held her hand while taking her to the hut to get some rest. Then, when she was on the roof before they left for the space station, Ratchet had held her hand when they walked back to the apartment. The Lombax had held her hand many times before, whether helping her get onto a higher platform of getting on the Bombsled (she still liked to sit in her seat, even though the sled didn't work anymore). However, those hand-holding moments didn't feel like those other two times. She wasn't quite sure how to explain those other two times. But all she knew was that she enjoyed having her hand held. And then, something she didn't expect happened just one day after the second time. Ratchet had held her, in his arms. She had not expected it when Ratchet hoisted her over his shoulder, but she really had not expected him to continue holding her. She thought that he would return her to the floor, but no, Circuit's feet did not touch the floor until they had arrived at the shooting range. Ratchet had also held her when he had returned her to her room, and also when he had taken her to his room. This confused Circuit very much. Why did Ratchet carry her so much? So, trying to hide the embarrassment of asking the question, she looked up at Ratchet.

"Ratchet?" She said, looking up at the Lombax. "Yeah?" He responded, looking right back at her. "Um...why do you like holding me?" Ratchet was surprised at the question. "Why do I like holding you?" Circuit nodded, confirming the question. He scratched the back of his head "Well, uh...I guess it's because-" "Of fatherly instincts perhaps?" Talwyn interrupted, walking around the corner. That comment made Ratchet a bit irritated, he shook his head "No, not because of that. That instinct doesn't exist in me. So it must be something else." Talwyn rolled her eyes, then her face suddenly got serious "Okay, enough goofing around. Ratchet, I need you to come with me, right now." "Why? What's going on?" Ratchet asked, now concerned. "You'll see, just come on. And don't get too comfortable, we may need to leave." He nodded, understanding what she meant. Danger. Possible danger. He looked at Circuit, "Circuit, I have to go with Talwyn. You go and find Clank, he knows where the kitchen is. He'll take you there, alright?" "Oh, uh, okay," was all she said, a bit sad that Ratchet was suddenly leaving her. "He's in the bedroom next to ours, okay? I'll see you later." And, with that, Ratchet went off with Talwyn. Circuit rubbed her right arms and her head drooped a bit. She didn't like being alone. So, she turned around and went back down the path that she had just came from so she could go see Clank.

Circuit walked back down the hallway until she reached the door that was next to Ratchet's room. She wasn't too sure if Clank would be in there because both she and Ratchet had gotten up fairly late. But, then again, Ratchet did say that Clank had formed a habit of sleeping as long as him. So she raised a fist and prepared to knock on the door. But before she made contact with any part of the door, it opened to reveal the tiny green-eyed robot. He jumped a little, he wasn't expecting Circuit to be there. "Oh! Hello Circuit. I did not expect to see you out here," he said. "I can tell. You jumped a little when you opened the door. What are you still doing in your room anyway? Ratchet said that you were up reading most of the night and that's why you wouldn't be in his bedroom," she said. "Umm..." Truth was, Clank was reading most of the night. But he wasn't reading scientific books or books on mathematics. No, he was reading about robotics. Female robotics to be more specific.

Ever since that night with Circuit, Clank wasn't quit sure what to say to her anymore. That's why he's been avoiding her so much, but now he was a bit worried that she was mad at him for ignoring her. Ratchet had noticed Clank's panicking, and had suggested that he read up on female robots and find out what they like. So, ever since that...specific night, Clank has been researching what attracts female robots. He's been through about seventeen books at this point, and he hasn't really came up with anything. Each robot has likes and dislikes, so its hard to write a book about nearly half the robot population's likes and dislikes. The one thing he could find that was a true fact was that female robots find extremely intelligent males to be very charming. But Clank very much doubted that Circuit found him charming, so he basically ended up where he started. Thankfully, it seemed that Circuit was over that night, so it was alright to talk to her again.

"Yes, I was reading a lot," Clank said. "What kind of books keeps you reading overnight?" Circuit asked, kind of amused. "The uh...the dictionary?" He responded nervously. The female robot stared at him for a moment, then shrugged "Well, there is no harm in learning a whole language over again. You must be really smart." Clank tried his best to make it not look like that his face had just warmed up. "So, do you want to get some breakfast?" She asked a bit eagerly. Clank hesitated to answer. He was in the middle of another book, which was only telling him exactly the same things as the previous books. But he was still keeping his eyes peeled for anything new that he didn't know yet. So he shook his head "I am sorry, but I am in the middle of a b-" "Aw, come on Clank, you have already read enough books. Ms. Talwyn dragged Ratchet away, so now I do not have anyone to be with. Please?" Circuit pleaded cutely. Clank sighed, not because he was going to give in to her pleas, but because he loved those stunning purple eyes that she had. He nodded "I guess that I can take a break." Circuit smiled as he stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him. And they both started walking down the hallway.

"This is kinda bad," Ratchet said, observing the footage playing on the screen. Some robot commandos were attacking Planet Lumos, and it looked like that they really had no intention of doing anything but destroying things. They were just blowing stuff up, like they were just there to cause destruction. But, Lumos was one of those peaceful planets that was constantly invaded, so the planet being attacked wasn't exactly huge news. "You sure you wanna go, Tal? I bet that the Galactic Police will be there before we arrive." "Yes, I want to go. Have you seen those robots? They're huge! Those poor people, constantly being attacked. We have to do something, it's our job," Talwyn responded. Ratchet shrugged "Alright, we'll go there, blow some robots up, I'm sure we'll have a blast...and I can't believe that I just said that." "At least you have the guts to acknowledge your own accidental puns." "Accidental...right...well, I think that I'll go get Clank and we'll be on our-" "Wait just a second!" Ratchet jumped as Talwyn grabbed him by the back of the shirt, "What?" "I want to ask you some things...about Circuit," she said. "What about her?" Ratchet asked, taking her hand off of his shirt. "What happened in the shooting range? You know, with the Blaster? How did she do that?" The Lombax shrugged "I don't know. And she said that she didn't know. So...yeah, I don't know." "So, what? We just pretend that it never happened? Ratchet, she made a Blaster upgrade itself into its most powerful form! Are we going to ignore that?" "No, I just...I don't know what to do about it! And I'm not forcing Circuit to go back to that shooting range so we can make her into some kind of experiment! Did you see the look on her face after the Nefarious hologram incident? I've never seen her look so scared in my life! Yes, I am very curious about this little...power that she has. But I'm not going to make her do anything just so we can find out about something that she'd not rather do. She's not someone who likes to destroy things, Tal. And I'm not going to make her destroy anything else. She will shoot again when she's ready to." Ratchet finished, catching his breath a little. It was quiet for a few moments, then Talwyn spoke "You really care about her, don't you?" "I do," he replied. "Well, if you can wait until she's ready, then I can wait too...but answer something for me." "What?" "Why do you like carrying her?" She asked with a smile. "Because it makes her happy," Ratchet said. "It makes her happy, or it makes both of you happy?" Before he could respond, another explosion went off in the footage. Talwyn raised a hand "Hold that thought, we got to go."

Clank and Circuit sat a small table, both trying their very best not to down the rest of their oil. They were both very hungry, but they both also had manners. Clank, finished taking a drink before he asked "Circuit, where did Ratchet take you yesterday?" "Yesterday?" Circuit said, getting a bit nervous. She was hoping that Clank wouldn't ask about the whole dilemma from the previous day. She swallowed a tiny sip of oil "We uh...we went to the shooting range." "The shooting range? Ratchet did not force you to shoot a gun, did he?" Clank said a bit worried. "No, no, no, I did it voluntarily. There was no forcing." "Oh, well that is good. But, why did you not come back afterwards? Ratchet said that you would be back." Circuit's stomach jumped a little, her hands coming together to form stressful fists. 'No', she thought to herself, 'do not think about it. You are not there anymore. It is like Ratchet said, I am here now. No one can get me.' "Um, are you alright? Circuit?" The little purple eyed robot, who just realized that she was looking slightly downwards. She looked back up at Clank "Huh? Oh. Do not worry, I am fine. Just a bit tired. I did not exactly have the most peaceful wake up call." "Did Ratchet wake you up rudely?" "Well, not exactly rudely..." her ticklish right foot twitched a little. "As for why I did not return yesterday, I uh...uh...I had a headache. Shooting guns can be a bit stressful, and the noise that they make is not exactly pleasant." "At least you are feeling alright now...you are feeling well, right?" Clank asked, a bit concerned. Circuit gave a tiny giggle of amusement "Yes Clank, I feel fine. My systems are healthy and running smoothly." The green eyes robot gave an inaudible sigh of relief. If Circuit was sick, he wouldn't know what to do.

Circuit was about to say something else, but Ratchet came running in. "Clank, on a scale of one to ten, how badly do you want to save a planet right now?" "Ummm..." the little robot was fazed by the sudden and unexpected question. Ratchet smiled and nodded "Good answer. Come on, some commandos are attacking Lumos. We have to get there before the Galactic Police get to have all the fun." "Planet Lumos? That planet is always being invaded. Such peaceful people live there," Clank said, getting down off his chair. "Doesn't mean that we can't do anything. Do you have some of my weapons on you?" "I never leave anywhere without double checking that they are there in my storage compartment." "You always got my back...mentally and physically." Clank giggled at Ratchet's joke. They were about to exit the kitchen when a certain female voice stopped them. "Wait! Where are you going? What commandos are you talking about...and what are commandos?" Circuit asked, getting down off her chair as well. Ratchet and Clank glanced at each other, and they could tell what the other was thinking. Ratchet sighed, then got on his knees in front of Circuit. "Circuit, we're going to leave the station for awhile. Some bad robots are attacking people on another planet. You're gonna be here by yourself-" "By myself? For how long long? When are you going to be back?" "I don't know, a few hours? Just stay in your room, draw some pictures or-" "I do not like to be alone. Take me with you!" Circuit pleaded. Ratchet sadly shook his head "We can't, it's too dangerous. You know all that hero stuff Clank and I told you about? Well, that hero stuff is not really for you. And I don't mean that in a bad way! No, no, not in a bad way! We just want you to stay safe, alright?" The little robot sadly nodded. Ratchet frowned, he knew that Circuit must have abandonment issues. This is the first time she'd be alone since he and Clank found her. "We won't be gone that long, trust me. We're not going away forever." Ratchet patted the little robot on the head, then stood up. "Come on Clank, let's go blow stuff up," he said, motioning for him to follow.

Clank looked at Circuit, who looked terribly disappointed that she couldn't go with them to Lumos. He had to leave her with something that will keep her in a positive mood. A certain sentence. But what sentence would that be? Clank had an idea of one in the back of his head, but he knew that it would never come out of his mouth. Still, it never hurt to try. "Uh, Circuit?" He said nervously. He now had her attention. Here it goes, better now and give her time to think about it than never. "I uh...I...I uh...anyway, bye! And sorry!" Extraordinarily embarrassed and disappointed in himself, he turned around and ran after Ratchet. Perhaps his mind told him that it wasn't time yet? Telling her then turning around and leaving on a mission didn't really seem appropriate now that he thought about it. But still, he was too eager and nervous to tell her. He will say it, he will say to Circuit that three word sentence that she may or may not long to hear.

After a few minutes of getting everything ready: double checking the weapons, getting the correct coordinates, etc., everyone was ready to get going. Talwyn couldn't help but noticed that sad look on Ratchet's face, and his few glances at the docking bay's exit/entrance. It was hard for him, staring Circuit in the face and telling her that she couldn't come with him. And the look on her face nearly killed him. Yet, he remained strong. But he wasn't too sure how Circuit was holding up. He was worried that she was in her room crying, and he nearly left the bay a few times to go and check on her. But he stopped himself every time. There were people in danger, and that was what important at the moment.

"Alright, let's show those commandos what happens when you blow stuff up on our watch," Ratchet said, turning Aphelion on. Clank jumped into the passenger seat and the cockpit closed. Aphelion's boosters roared to life, and they were ready for takeoff. And, because of the roaring engines, neither Ratchet or Clank heard the cargo hold door close.

* * *

**You know that feeling when you finally finish a chapter at 12:21 in the morning? Awesome.**

**So, yeah, didn't really have much Clank and Circuit cuteness. Sorry about that. My mind was all like "NO! I am not done with the Ratchet and Circuit cuteness! NO!" But, I assure you that there will be plenty of Clank and Circuit cuteness next chapter (especially near the end), which should come fast because I already have everything planned out.**

**Also, robots can be ticklish in my opinion. It's adorable. Deal with it bruh.**

**Also, Ratchet and Clank will be at E3 next month! YAAAY! Hoping for a new movie trailer and PS4 gameplay! Oh, and if you go to Ratchet Galaxy, you can see pictures of the new characters that the celebrity cast will be voicing (Grimroth looks scary, Cora looks alright, Elaris looks like she's made out of paper or something, and Victor looks freaking awesome. Victor is actually the robot from the movie trailer who shoots at Clank's ship with the Negotiator. And Sylvester Stallone voices him, which is just...it's just so perfect! And it's ironic that I love this character so much because this character shoots at my most favorite Ratchet and Clank character, which is Clank if you haven't already guessed).**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	12. Chapter 12

After a trip through the cosmos, the two spaceships entered the atmosphere of Planet Lumos. They hadn't even rached the surface and Ratchet was already feeling very warm. Lumos had a very arid climate with hot weather year-round. But the Vullards didn't seem to mind too much, they were used to it. And how they got used to it, Ratchet never knew.

Within minutes, they touched down on the dry surface. Ratchet opened the cockpit and got smacked in the face by the heat. "Warm!" He gasped as he left the air conditioned Aphelion. Even Clank was fanning himself after leaving the cockpit, and robots didn't get hot that easily. The two saw Talwyn get out of her ship, along with Cronk and Zephyr. "Why does it have to be so darn hot on this planet?" Zephyr said, pretending to wipe sweat off of his forehead. "Well, when you're orbiting near two suns, it's gonna get a bit warm," Ratchet said. He turned around and asked Clank for his Omniwrench, which the little robot pulled out of his chest compartment. He swung it over his shoulder "So, are we gonna stand around and wait for those commandos to get to us?" "Well, you seem eager to destroy stuff," Talwyn said. "Of course I am, the last thing I destroyed was the robot suit that belonged to that Stuart guy. And it wasn't even challenging! I have some excess wrench-hitting that I need to work off. Right Clank?" "Do not ask me, I am not the one who destroys things. I am just the metal backpack who likes to watch," Clank said. "You enjoyed fighting Stuart and you know it!" Clank didn't respond to that, but his silence told Ratchet that he was right.

Taking a few seconds to make sure that they had the proper weapons equipped with them, the group was about to start heading out to find the commandos. They shouldn't be too far, they could sometimes hear explosions in the distance. "Let's go!" Cronk said, motioning them ahead with the gun in his hand. And they were about to get going too, until they heard the sound of banging.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"What the heck is that noise?" Talwyn asked, looking around somewhat scowling due to the annoyance the sound was causing her. Everyone stopped to take a listen, trying their best to block out the noises of the explosions.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"I think...I think that it's coming from one of our ships," Ratchet said with a curious face, walking over to the two spaceships. His ears may look goofy, but they were very good at hearing. The banging noise would happen every few seconds, and he used his ears to follow the noise. 'It's coming from Talwyn's ship...no, no, too far to the left...maybe it's from behind that rock? No, rocks don't sound like that when they're hit, so if it's not coming from either of those things...' He walked over to Aphelion and listened in...

_BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"It's coming from the cargo hold!" Ratchet said to the others. They walked over to the ship and watched as he grabbed the cargo hold door. In one big heave, he pulled open the door and something fell out of it. The little object bounced a few feet before finally settling on the ground. The object moaned a little from the sudden dropping. Ratchet walked over to it, then, after realizing what that thing was, he yelled.

"Circuit?! What are you doing here?!"

Circuit rubbed her eyes for a few moments so her visual sensors could get used to the brightness. She sat up, fixing her jacket, which became out of place in some places due to the fall. Then she looked up the Ratchet, who looked mad. Her heart jumped a little, she's never seen him mad before. The Lombax even sounded mad as he spoke "Circuit, I told you to stay put! You can't be here, it's too dangerous! I've already explained all of this to you! And what is in your hand?" Circuit was holding something. A weapon. Before she had sneaked onto the ship, she had stopped by the shooting range and grabbed a weapon. The lightest one she could find was a machete. She would have grabbed a gun, but past experiences drew her away from them. She held up the weapon "A...a machete. I...I took it from the shooting range so I could-" "If you're thinking about fighting those commandos, then think again. And you still haven't told me why you deliberately disobeyed me!" "I-I...I was going to be all alone, a-and...I did not know when you were going to come back, and...I w-was going to miss you," tears were forming in Circuit's eyes, and she was shaking a little. Ratchet's face softened, he really shouldn't have gotten so mad. All Circuit wanted to do was help, and what kind of person did that make him if he denied her of doing that? A bad person, that's what it made him. "I will stay with Aphelion," Circuit said, trying to wipe her tears away before they could fall. She had her face turned away so Clank wouldn't see her crying. "Yeah, I can't really let you do that," Ratchet said. Circuit looked at him curiously.

Truth was, he thought that it was a very bad idea to let her go with them to battle incredibly dangerous armed robots. But, he wanted to test something. Though he shunned and cursed himself for thinking about doing this, he wanted to take Circuit with them to see if she could do the weapon upgrading thing again. Talwyn was right, they couldn't just ignore this power of hers, but they weren't going to force her to try it. But, she's not being forced this time, she wants to go fight completely voluntary. So, if she upgrades a weapon of two with her mind or something, it wouldn't hurt for him to have Clank take some notes on what triggers it and how it works.

"What do you mean you cannot let me do that? Are you going to take me back to the space station?" Circuit asked, airing out her jacket a little. She didn't like warm weather very much. Ratchet got down on one knee and placed a had on Circuit's shoulder, "No. Now listen, disobeying an order, stealing weapons, and sneaking onto a ship is very wrong. But, I would have done the exact same thing if I found out that all my friends were leaving me to blow stuff up. So though I can't help but feel proud of you, I have to tell you to never do this again. Alright?" Circuit nodded, starting to feel better. Her mood had mostly went up when Ratchet had told her that he was proud of her. "Come on, let's go stop some bad robots." The little robot looked excited now, but her excitement was a bit worn down by the heat.

Talwyn walked over to Ratchet and said quietly "Are you crazy?! She can't come with us! Those robots will take her down just by flicking her! She can't defend herself Ratchet!" "Don't worry Tal, I won't let anything happen to her-" "Well, I guess a dad has to-" "I am not a dad!" Talwyn did her best to try and not laugh at Ratchet's irritation. He got more and more annoyed the more times she told a dad joke. He had no idea what kind of relationship he had with Circuit It wasn't exactly a brother-sister relationship, nor a niece-really cool uncle. Maybe it was a new kind of relationship. The oh-my-gosh-this-purple-eyed-robot-can-make-awesome-drawings-so-she-should-live-with-me-and-my-best-friend relationship. Ratchet looked over his shoulder and yelled "Hey Clank! Are you gonna get on or-" The Lombax shut his mouth immediately. He didn't want to interrupt. Clank was helping Circuit with her jacket, which she had removed because of the heat. But she refused to leave it behind. So Clank draped the jacket over her shoulders and then tied the sleeves together, to make some sort of little cape for her. "They do look cute together," Talwyn said, who was also watching. Ratchet nodded, they really did look cute together. And Clank definitely wanted to be with her. But neither of them knew if Circuit was interested. Maybe Ratchet could get her to spill her feelings for Clank, but he would have to think about how to do that. "Come on you two!" Ratchet yelled, and the two robots walked up along side him as the group set off.

About ten minutes had passed and the sound of explosions had faded. Clank theorized that the Galactic Police had arrived and had taken out the commandos themselves. Ratchet rejected the theory, saying that they would have heard sirens and gunfire if the authorities had arrived. This silence indicated that caution was needed to be taken. After a few more feet, Ratchet couldn't take his low guard anymore "Clank, get on my back." "Why? It is quiet, Ratchet. There is no sign of danger anywhere," Clank replied. "That's what I'm worried about, commandos don't just disappear." "He's right Clank, maybe you should get yourself into position," Talwyn said, looking over her shoulder. Clank shrugged as Ratchet stopped walking so he could get on. He walked over to him and jumped, turning himself midair, landing with the satisfying 'click' when coming into contact with the harness. Then he tucked his appendages into his body. Circuit looked amazed, then she giggled "You look like a backpack." "He is a backpack!" Ratchet said jokingly. "But, if Clank is on your back, where am I supposed to go?" She asked. "Just try to stay as close to me as possible," Ratchet replied "And use that machete of yours if you-" "Shhh!" Talwyn hissed as she, Cronk and Zephyr stopped walking "I thought I heard something." They stood completely still, listening for any kind of noise. Ratchet shook his head "You must have been hearing things, Tal. Cause I don't hear or see a single-AH!"

Out of nowhere, a bullet came crashing into the ground, right in the middle of their group. The shock of the sudden bullet nearly made them all fall over, but they managed to keep their balance. Four heavily armed robot commandos appeared from their hiding places, each had a blaster drawn. They all fired, making everyone duck for cover behind the nearest rock that they could find. Ratchet grabbed Circuit and quickly hid behind a large boulder, he could hear the blaster's bullets hitting the rock. Ratchet placed Circuit on the ground "Circuit, stay here, and please listen this time. If one of those robots come near you, either run or call for me, okay?" She nodded. Ratchet turned around his Omniwrench at the ready. When he turned around, Circuit was now facing Clank. "Be careful," she said to him. "Careful? We do not know the meaning of the word...or at least Ratchet does not," Clank said, a small chuckle accompanying him, Circuit laughed as well. Then, in one swift move, Ratchet and Clank were gone.

Cronk, Zephyr, and Talwyn were already shooting at two of the commandos, so that left two for Ratchet and Clank. One of the robots spotted him and started shooting. Ratchet starting running to the right, attempting to outrun the line of bullets. He barely succeeded, one of the bullets nearly hitting the very tip of his tail. "I'm sick of that blaster!" He yelled as he tightened his grip on his Omniwrench, then threw it in a boomerang like style. The wrench flew forward, nailing the robot in the shoulder, which fell of after the sound of wires snapping filled the air. "Ooh, that had to hurt!" Ratchet said, as he grabbed the wrench as it flew back to him. "Now all I have to do is-" He felt Clank squirming on his back, followed by a cold ring being pushed into the back of his head. The second commando that Ratchet was going to target, was right behind him, holding a gun up to his head. It had covered Clank's mouth so he couldn't warn him. He heard the sound of a metal finger on a metal trigger.

Circuit was watching frightfully. Ratchet had just taken off a robot's arm just by hitting it with a wrench. When the commando had started shooting at him, she thought that she was going to pass out. But she that was nothing compared to what she felt now. Ratchet had a gun digging into the back of his head. Clank had his mouth covered so he couldn't say anything. They were going to die. She had to do something, she couldn't just stand there. So she came mostly out of her hiding spot "Ratchet! Clank!" Ratchet turned his head a little to look at her "No! Circuit! Get back!" "But-" She saw the robot place its hand on the trigger. This was it. Her heart was pounding extraordinarily hard. Her fear uncontrollable. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" "Circuit, calm down! Don't-" Ratchet paused mid-sentence. He felt warmth in his right hand. He looked down, and nearly gasped until he chocked. His Omniwrench was glowing with the same strange aura that the blaster did when Circuit faced the Nefarious hologram. Even the commando looked confused. The glow faded away. Ratchet's once blue Omniwrench was now a blazing red, and small flames danced at the tip of it. "The...the Fire-Bomb Mod..." Ratchet muttered. He heard a few clicks from the gun in his head. He had at least four seconds.

Too easy.

Without even turning, he jerked the newly upgraded wrench backwards, sending a fist sized fireball flying at the commando behind you. The fire ball nailed the robot in the torso. It dropped its gun then stumbled backwards. However, when it backed up, it still had it's hand on Clank, so Clank was forced off of his harness and onto the ground. Ratchet didn't really notice though, he was having too much fun with the wrench's upgrade. The commando had a large burn mark on it, and it was about to have many more. Ratchet swung the wrench back and forth, sending multiple fireballs at the robot. He didn't miss a single one, the robot was basically on fire at this point. Its legs had stop working, too much damage, it fell to the ground. He walked over to the fallen bot, raised the wrench, and struck its neck, disconnecting its head. After taking a moment to absorb everything that had just happened, Ratchet glanced at Clank quickly to make sure that he was alright. He was sitting on the ground, trying to get his jaw back into place. That commando had gripped his face too hard. He looked over his shoulder, Talwyn was smiling at him, impressed. Though she had to turn back around, she, Cronk and Zephyr still had one commando to go. But his moment of glory was cut very short.

The sound of a little shriek made him turn fully around and growl. The second commando that they had to fight was walking over towards Circuit. She started backing up as it got closer to her. For a moment, she had started shaking her machete, trying to make it upgrade into something. But machetes didn't have anything to upgrade into, so she really had nothing to use. Having no other choice, she turned around and started running. The commando went after her. Ratchet gripped his Omniwrench tighter and ran after the two. He heard Talwyn call after him, but he didn't listen to what she actually said.

Circuit attempted to outmaneuver the commando by running back and forth between all the rocks that she could find. Though that really wasn't helpful, the commando would just shoot rocks in its way. She had no idea what to do at this point. Her machete won't be able to do anything to this robot, and it wouldn't upgrade for her. So she just kept running. But the commando would catch up in no time, its legs were much longer than her's.

And Circuit's prediction was right. No more than a minute later, she felt a hand grab her jacket's cape. She was lifted roughly into the air, where she yelped in fear She was up high. She didn't like that at all. The commando watched her struggle for a few moments, then it used its other hand to grab her body. The only thing that could be seen was her head, neck, and very tops of her shoulder. She squirmed in the robot's grip. But the squirming soon turned into screaming. The commando started tightening its grip on her body. It was trying to crush her. Circuit was screaming in pain, she's never felt so much of it before, not even when she had that horrific gash on her side. She didn't know how long her metal casing could withstand the pressure, but something told her that it wouldn't be very long.

She felt it. She could feel part of her casing starting to break. This was it, she thought, she was going to die in this commandos' hand. At least, she thought that she would. A large fireball emerged from the sea of rocks and it sailed through the air, hitting the commando in the crook of its elbow. It was forced to let go of Circuit, so it opened its hand and dropped her. She was in for a fall of at least eleven feet. Too painful to scream anymore, she felt her body fall down, and she closed her eyes and prepared for impact. But, instead of hitting a hard ground, two arms wrapped around her at the very last moment. Ratchet was the one who was met with a hard ground. He slid across the ground, dropping his Omniwrench in the process. Once his sliding stopped, he coughed up some of the dirt and such that he had accidentally inhaled. He looked down at Circuit "Are you okay?" If she was telling the truth, she would have shaken her head no. Her body was aching, and she could make out the cracks in her torso, her compartment door had managed to remain intact though. She nodded her head anyway, just so Ratchet didn't have to worry so much.

Ratchet set her carefully onto the ground. He noticed the cracks in her torso. He reached forward and traced one of them with his forefinger "You don't look okay." Circuit winced harshly when he applied a bit of pressure to the crack. She was hurt. That robot had hurt her. He was going to kill that robot. It was going to go down like that other commando, in a shower of flames. No one hurts his Circuit.

Ratchet was ready. He was going to grab his Omniwrench and destroy the commando. All he had to do was-

"Look out! It is doing something!"

The Lombax turned around, only to be blinded by a white light. He looked down, only to fins that his body was now covered in what looked like some sort of white grid design. After a few seconds, the white light turned green. Ratchet realized what it had just done, it had just scanned him. And whatever the robot was looking for, he was an exact match. He didn't have long to act. He raced towards his Omniwrench, which was on the ground. But it was blue again, the upgrade was gone. It must have downgraded when he dropped it. Just like when Circuit threw the blaster and it had turned back to normal.

The commando was coming after him, and it was getting out a gun. Ratchet had no other choice, he dived for it. He was already hurting from when he had dived for Circuit, but he had to jump for it at this point. He roughly and painfully slid in the ground, his hand getting closer to the wrench's handle. Three feet. Two feet. One foot. Six inches. One inch-

_Click. Ssssss..._

The commando removed the gun's tip from Ratchet's head. It did not shoot him, but injected him with some sort of tranquilizer. But that didn't stop Circuit from covering her eyes. Ratchet grew very tired very quickly. His body felt like it weighed over two hundred pounds. He tried his very best to get his hand on the wrench's handle, but once he felt his numbing finger touch it, darkness engulfed his vision. His head hit the ground and he fell into a deep sleep. The commando reached down and grabbed him. Circuit yelled "No! Ratchet! Wake up! Ratchet! Please!" She ran over to the commando and tried to grab its ankle, but it just tossed her off with one shake. Her back hit the ground, making her torso hurt more. The commando stretched out its feet, where a decent stream of fire flowed out the bottoms. It hovered away, but the force of the sudden flame made dust and dirt fly everywhere. "Ratchet!" Circuit shouted, but soon her open mouth became filled with dirt and dust. She closed her eyes and shielded her face with her hands. It took a little over a minute before everything was settled. Circuit coughed up the debris that was stuck in her throat. She rubbed her eyes then quickly opened them and looked around. The commando was gone. Ratchet was gone.

If Circuit wasn't in so much pain, she would've fallen to her knees. But that would make the pain even worse. So she just hugged herself, doing her very best to hold back the tears forming in her eyes. Ratchet wasn't here anymore. He was gone. And where he was going, she had no idea. All she knew was that he wouldn't be going home that day.

"Circuit!"

She looked over her shoulder. Clank, Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr were walking towards her. It was Clank who had called her name. He came up to her, attempting to help her up "Circuit, are you alright? And...where is Ratchet?" Just hearing the question nearly made her breakdown. She was not alright. She was nowhere near being alright. She couldn't control herself. Prepared to ignore all protests that he might offer, Circuit thrusted herself into Clank's arms. "It took him! The commando took him! He is gone!" She cried. Clank wasn't prepared for this situation. Though he didn't know which one he wasn't prepared for the most: his best friend being kidnapped or his crush hugging him. Both were equally shocking in his opinion.

Before he could put his arms around Circuit, Talwyn pulled her away. She grabbed her shoulders "Circuit, where did they take Ratchet? Do you know?" Circuit shook her head no. "The commando did some sort of scan on him. It started out with a white color, but when it scanned Ratchet, it turned green. Then it injected some sort of serum or tranquilizer into him and he fell asleep. So it must have been searching for him." Talwyn looked confused "Why did this particular one scan him and not the others?" "I do not know. Maybe it is because he was staying still, unlike when he faced the other commando. They probably could not scan him when he was moving around..." she tried to go on, but her sobbing wouldn't let her. She was trying her best to stop crying, Clank was looking directly at her. So much for him not seeing her cry. "Aww, Circuit. Don't cry," Talwyn said. she tried to pull her in to a hug, but a small shriek from the little robot made her put her down. Circuit couldn't cover all of them, but she placed a hand on the cracks in her torso. Talwyn's grip had made them sting like crazy. "You are injured," Clank said, observing her wounds. She nodded "The commando nearly crushed me in its fist. Ratchet hit it with a fireball before it could break my metal casing."

"Sorry to interrupt, but one of our rookies has just been rookie-napped," Zephyr said "how are we gonna find the darn Lombax?" "Didn't Ratchet decapitate that commando?" Cronk asked. "Yeah, yeah he did! So, assuming that he didn't fry the thing's memory banks," Talwyn began. "We could hack into its memories and receive the coordinates of where it was originally deployed," Clank finished. "Cronk, Zephyr, go get that head," she said, pointing in the direction of where the robot was destroyed. The two old robots nodded and walked away. Talwyn looked at the two little robots "We better go back to the space station quickly. I'll take you two in Aphelion while Cronk and Zephyr take my ship." The two nodded. She looked at Circuit "Are you okay to walk?" She nodded again "My legs are perfectly capable of carrying me to the ships." Of course, working legs didn't hinder the pain of cracks in her body. But she didn't want Talwyn to be slowed down with her in her arms.

Talwyn turned around and started walking back the direction that they had came from. Clank started walking as well, but Circuit wasn't terribly eager to start moving. She took a few steps, attempting to hide her mini winces. It hurt to walk. Maybe she should have taken Talwyn's offer. She didn't think that she would make it. Then, she saw a hand outstretched in front of her. She looked up and saw Clank's smiling face. He was offering her his hand so he could help her walk. Smiling shyly back, she took his hand. Then they set off together, walking in the directions of the ships

When she held Clank's hand, it felt like something she was not very familiar with. It felt nothing like when Ratchet held her hand. When Ratchet held her hand, it felt it he was doing it for safety, to keep her close to him. This was nothing like that. She felt this weird sensation in her chest whenever she came into contact with Clank, and her face would get very warm.

She thought of the night when she landed on Kerwan. She was cold, hungry, injured and scared. She was so scared that she even ran away from a robot who looked exactly like her. She even tried to take down Clank by dropping a tower of boxes on him. But he didn't give up, he would never give up. When he found her again, he didn't rush in to grab her or yell at her for dropping boxes on him. He just simply asked who she was. Then there was the moment when she was about to pass out, she had heard Clank's pleas for Ratchet to help her. And when she woke up the following morning, he looked so shy, it was actually adorable.

Then there was the time when Circuit had discovered her fear of heights, and Ratchet wanted to test it by having her look down while they were flying on the Bombsled. When she became frightened after looking down, she had hugged Clank in fear. He had looked so shocked and a bit embarrassed when she did that. Why she automatically hugged Clank, she still din't know.

And then there was that one specific night. Both her and Clank were up in the middle of the night, attempting to shake nightmares out of their heads with oil. Admitting that neither of them wanted to go back to sleep. They had sat on the couch and talked about their past. And when Circuit brought up the idea that the Doctor Nefarious person had built her, he had gotten so upset. He said that there was no way that the bad robot had built her. And, if it was a possibility, he didn't want to consider it to be the truth. And then, it happened. Circuit was all alone, Clank right next to her. She honestly don't know why she did it. She didn't know why she had placed her hand on Clank's shoulder. She just felt so close to him. So in tune with him. So...

Circuit had her realization. The nice words. The hand holding. The head-shoulder resting. There was only one answer to all of this. At first, she wasn't so sure if she should admit it to herself. But it's the only possible answer. She glanced at Clank. His brilliant green eyes glanced back at her. She smiled at him and her face went warm. She was sure of it now.

Circuit was in love with Clank.

* * *

**Okay! Okay! Calm yourselves! Hold the fangirling! You can continue the fangirling (or fanboying) after you read the author's notes.**

**And if you're fangirling over this, wait until you read next chapter.**

**And, in case you don't know, the Fire Bomb Mod is a type of wrench from Secret Agent Clank and Size Matters. It's one of my most favorite weapons.  
**

**Also, ArtSmartQueen, in the last chapter, I was not referring to the end of the story, I was referring to the end of this chapter. No, the ending of this story won't be for awhile. So no need to worry about that. **

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Mmm...Lumos...commandos...fire...lots of fire...fun with fire...!"

Ratchet stirred. He couldn't feel anything, except for a major pain in the side of his head. Eventually, feeling started to return to his body. Though he sort of wished that it hadn't, then he wouldn't have felt how hard the floor was, or the amount of drool that was coming out the side of his mouth.

Wait, hard floor? Head pains?

Ratchet shot straight up, after taking a few needed deep breaths. His vision started out black at first, but then colored started filling in. The only thing he could see was a dark gray metal wall and floor. No wonder the floor was so hard, it was metal. He took a second to wipe the drool from his mouth, then stood up.

"Clank? Circuit? Talwyn? Cronk? Zephyr?" Ratchet called out, but he received no response. Actually, he wasn't really expecting one, but it still didn't hurt to try and see if someone was there. "Well, this is just fantastic," he said, putting his hands on his waist. But soon after, his hand reached up and rubbed the part of his head that was hurting. That commando injected something into him, some sort of sleep serum or a liquid along those lines. Now that he thinks about it, maybe when that commando (in which he destroyed in a shower flames) held its gun to the back of his head, it was only going to inject him with that serum, not shoot him. Then again, it hadn't scanned him like the other one did, so maybe it was going to shoot him.

A sudden noise startled Ratchet. He turned around, the cell door was opening. Time to meet the person who just had to get him kidnapped. Though he already had a guess in mind...

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here. The universe's greatest hero TRAPPED! I guess you can say that I put the cat BACK IN THE BAG!"

Nailed it.

Dr. Nefarious came strolling into the room, an evil smile on his face. The crack on his head was as unappealing as ever. Ratchet rolled his eyes "Oh joy, look who it is. Captured me so I can kick your butt again. Eh, Nefarious?" "SILENCE! I will not be talked to like that by a filthy squishy!"Nefarious yelled. But Ratchet didn't even flinch. He just crossed his arms "Alright Doc, what do you want this time?" The robot got closer to his face. So close that Ratchet could see his reflection in his beady red eyes. "I want to know where she is!" The Lombax raised an eyebrow "Where who is? What are you talking about-" "You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Nefarious yelled. He had sworn, that means that he was getting very serious "Where is she? Where are you hiding her? Where is Error?!" "Error?" Ratchet said, genuinely confused. Error? What kind of error is he talking about? And why would a robot be looking for an error? "Yes! Error! You know? Silver, purple eyes, stupid black jacket! And don't you dare say that you don't know who she is, because I saw her riding with you during that interview with Qwark when he went to that conference at Metropolis!"

Ratchet's heart nearly stopped. Then its rate increased drastically. He was right all along, he was regrettably right. But his mind refused to accept it "No...no, you're not talking about...about Circuit?" "Circuit?" Nefarious was curious at the sound of the name. Ratchet nodded, his chest hurting from his heart's crazy beating "Yes, Circuit. The female Clank." "Yes! Yes that is her! That is Error-" "Her name is Circuit!" He said, nearly yelling. He was calling her Error. What kind of name is that? Calling any robot that was just...mean. No wonder Circuit didn't like him. He felt anger rising up inside of him "What do you want with her anyway? And if you call her Error again, I'll beat the living bolts out of you!" Nefarious placed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth "Call her what you want, but that robot knows some things that I don't want you to know. No doubt that she has already spilled some secrets to you. What has she told you?!"

Ratchet didn't know what to say at that point. Everything in this conversation was moving too fast. What secrets could Circuit possibly know? She didn't seem like the kind of robot who would keep evil mastermind plans in her memory banks and not tell anyone.

But, he couldn't help but keep thinking about the horrible truth. Dr. Nefarious did build Circuit. She was built at the hands of evil (not to mention insanity). That explains why Circuit had said that he thought that recognized the Nefarious hologram.

Wait...the Nefarious hologram! The hologram that had scared Circuit to tears. Nefarious had done something. He had to have hurt her or scarred her or something that would make her cry at the sight of him. He had hurt her somehow. No one hurt his Circuit.

Ratchet looked at Nefarious with hostile eyes. His voice was quiet and full of anger "What did you do to her?" "What?" Nefarious responded. But before he could say anything else, Ratchet grabbed his shoulders and slammed the evil robot's back into the cell wall. "What did you do to her?!" He yelled angrily "I showed Circuit a hologram of you and she cried! Why did she cry Nefarious? What did you do?!" "Get your hands off of me!" Nefarious grabbed Ratchet's arms and threw him onto the floor. "So what if I'm not her favorite person in the universe? That little waste deserved everything that came to her! Now what has she told you?" "She hasn't told me anything!" Ratchet yelled back, getting up off the ground "And she is not a little waste! If anything, you're a waste! What's your deal anyway? What, you go from trying to kill a Lombax to tormenting a sweet little robot girl? What the hell Nefarious?" Ratchet swore, now things were getting VERY serious. Nefarious rubbed the green dome known as his head "All this yelling is giving me a headache. Now listen here furball, I want to make a deal with you." Ratchet didn't say anything, he just say there, his glare could kill if you looked at it for too long. "I will let you go free in exchange for the little girl." "No. I'm not doing that," Ratchet responded, shaking his head. "Wait what? Seriously? I'm actually willing to let you go free and you reject the offer? Is there something wrong with your brain?" "Nothing's wrong with my brain. But something must be wrong with yours if you think that I'm willing to give Circuit to you," the Lombax retorted. Nefarious grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close "Until I get that robot, you will rot in here for the rest of your days." "Aw come on, we both know that that won't happen. I bet that I'll be in here for a week, tops." "Bah, you may be dead in a week if you keep talking to me like that. As for right now, I've had about enough of you existing right in front of me. I'm leaving!" Nefarious dropped Ratchet and turned around.

"Wait! Nefarious! One question."

"What?"

"Just out of curiosity, why did you kidnap me and not Circuit? It's not like I wanted you to kidnap her though. In fact, if you would've taken her instead of me, I would have walked up to you and rip out your metal spine with my bare hands. But just wondering, why me?"

Nefarious's shoulder dropped drastically "She...she was with you? You didn't hide her away or anything like that?" "Well, technically we did hide her away, but she followed us anyway. Actually, one of your commandos nearly killed her. Tried to crush her in its fist," Ratchet said, shrugging. Nefarious suddenly yelled "I'LL KILL THOSE COMMANDOS!" He exited the cell in an angry fashion and the door shut behind him, locking Ratchet in.

Ratchet sat on the ground angrily. Looks like he was going to be here for quite a bit. No matter though, he was sure that Clank and the others were thinking of a plan to rescue him right now. Who knows, maybe they were on their way right now?

Well, in the mean time, he could spend some time freaking out about the fact that his and Clank's most frightful theory turned out to be true. Dr. Nefarious did build Circuit. He should be saying that Nefarious built 'Error', but he would never want to call her that. Still, that was technically her true name. A mean name, but true. But that won't stop him from calling her 'Circuit'. He placed his hands behind his head and stretched out on the metal floor, now knowing what to know at the moment. Right now, he needs to focus on letting everything he had just heard process in his head and sink in.

But, he knew one thing for sure. The second he gets free, he's going to beat the living bolts out of Nefarious with his Omniwrench. Fire-Bomb Mod if Circuit got scared enough.

"Everyone loves the Fire Omniwrench...especially me."

**Apogee Space Station**

Talwyn gave a sigh of relief. Ratchet had not managed to fry the decapitated robot's brain. So they were easily able to hook the head up to the computer and analyse its memory banks.

But that was proving to be a difficult task.

For some reason, the commandos brain was laced with firewalls and codes that needed to be decoded. Clank insisted that he should be the one who navigates around these unfortunate obstacles. However, Talwyn rejected his offer, telling him that his programming might not be able to handle so many codes and walls. So he just stood there and watch as Talwyn and her two warbots tried to get into those memory banks.

Circuit was watching too, but she wasn't paying attention. She was too busy drowning in that horrible feeling known as guilt. It was like getting a punch to the gut, and the feeling of it lingered for a long time until you finally get rid of it by doing the right thing. The right thing was the medicine for the injury that the guilt puncher had left. However, the only way Circuit could get her medicine is by saving a Lombax, and there's no indication of where the he is. He could be anywhere in the universe, and it could take ages to find him if Talwyn didn't get to the commandos' memory banks.

Circuit sighed, then got out of her seat. She didn't feel like that she belonged there. So she turned around and walked over to the door, exiting out of them. The only pair of eyes that had been on her as she left the room were a brilliant green. And those eyes quickly followed her out of the room.

"Circuit? Circuit, where are you going?" Clank called after her. She stopped walking and turned around, allowing Clank to catch up to her. "I think that I should go to room," she said as he arrived next to her. "But why? There is no reason that you should. It is only 7:21 PM, it is a bit early for going to bed," Clank said. "True, but I have this feeling that I should get out of the way. I mean, if it was not for me, Ratchet would not have been kidnapped. So I think that the cause of the problem should not be a burden to the people who are trying to help," she said, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. This irritated Clank a bit. He really didn't like it when Circuit dissed herself like that. She was obviously lacking in self confidence, and she really shouldn't be. If someone asked Clank about Circuit, he would make her sound like the most talented and sweetest robot alive. If someone asked Circuit about herself, she would make herself sound like the most worthless piece of metal that ever existed. Clank guessed that she didn't get much love in her previous life.

"Circuit, why must you degrade yourself?" He asked her. She didn't respond, she just tilted her head. She must not have known what he meant by that. Clank sighed and shook his head a little. The poor girl didn't know that she was practically bullying herself. He grabbed her shoulders "You are not a burden! I know that Ratchet has told you this before, but now I am telling you myself." He sighed again "Circuit, I do not know what happened to you in your previous life, but it is in the past now. Whatever self confidence that you lost back then, you now have a chance to get it back. All you have to do is let it. You are kind, talented, and beau-" He cut himself off right there. Don't push it there, he thought to himself. But Circuit already had a pretty good guess about what he was going to say. And she was trying her very hardest not to blush right in front of him. Then she cleared her throat "Speak for yourself. Here you are, talking about about how good my drawings are, while I am just standing here in the presence of an intergalactic hero! Not to mention that you yourself are very kind, extremely smart, and absolutely charmi-" There she goes again, stop it now, before you make things awkward.

Oh, too late.

Clank was about ready to explode on the inside. She thinks that he was charming, just like the book had said! Well, books...all seventeen of that didn't put a damper on Clank's mood. Was he really that impressive though her eyes? Was he really that loveable though those gorgeous violet eyes? He could feel his heart rate increasing. He really was truly in love with her.

"Um...Clank?" She said a bit shyly. Clank smiled, she looked so adorable when she was shy. "I have never properly thanked you for everything that you have done for me up until now. I mean, I have thanked Ratchet many of times, but I never got around to thanking you. So...thank you." She felt so nervous talking to him. That little smile of his made her heart go nuts. He was cute. And those eyes were absolutely fantastic. Green has never fit a robot better. And they always gave off this friendly glow that just says "hello" when you look into them. "And thank you for all those nice things that you said. You are right, my self confidence is not the greatest. But, I am sure that the more time I spend with you, the more confident I will become," she said, slightly scolding herself afterwards. She had meant to say that spending time with him and Ratchet would help her with her confidence. Still, Clank looked happy so she was happy.

"And it was rather nice to call me charming. I actually get it a lot, but it is a lot different when it comes from you," Clank said. The two laughed a bit, it was one of those laughs that would hopefully break the awkward atmosphere.

It didn't break the atmosphere, but it did change it.

It was just them. The two of them. Two (three) of a model. Two colors, brilliant green and calming purple. Their heads were two feet apart. Joy filed both of them, and it wouldn't go away even if they tried.

The nice words, the romantic gestures, the laughter, these were the things that made their heads lean forward. Both of their eyes shut themselves as their head's distances became shorter, and shorter. Until...

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!**

**One of the best ones I've done, I'm very proud of myself-AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! (falls off cliff)**

**So, let's all just take a minute and let all of this sink in...IS IT SINKIN' IN YET?!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Clank! Come back! We got to the-oh," Talwyn had rushed into the doorway, only to realize that she had just interrupted something. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I uh..." The two robots, who were startled by the Markazian's sudden appearance, quickly backed away from each other (mainly out of embarrassment). They both shook their heads. Though they were very disappointed that they hadn't...finished.

"Okay, just checking. Anyway, we managed to break into the commando's memory banks. Cronk and Zephyr are going through it right now. Hopefully we'll be able to find out where they were sent from. Come on," Talwyn said. Circuit left Clank's side and walked up to Talwyn "So if we locate where the robots were sent from, we can find Ratchet?" "That's the idea," Talwyn replied. The little robot walked with her back through the doorway. She whispered "Were you and Clank about to...?" "No questions, please," Circuit said, her face metaphorically turning red.

Clank's shoulders were low. He was so close. They were right there, they were just about to do it. He couldn't be more disappointed or annoyed. And Circuit hardly minded that they were interrupted, which had made his shoulders drop even lower. He placed a hand on his forehead, being in love was harder than he had expected it to be. But, still, he shouldn't be too upset, they now had access to the commando's memory banks. So now they could find Ratchet. Then again, Talwyn will probably leak what just happened to him, and Ratchet will surely tease him. Usually Clank could withstand the Lombax's playful taunts, but, if we went overboard, he would surely get a metal footprint stamped on his tail.

"Aren't you coming?" Circuit appeared around in the doorway. Clank shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded. Then he followed Circuit into the room, where he saw various parts of information displayed on the giant computer screen. It looked like a lot, but it actually wasn't. There were mostly just random codes and empty files, nothing impressive. Talwyn was able to find what they were looking for within three minutes.

"Okay, I think I got it. According to this, the commando's name is CR-004, which is always nice to know. But the piece of information that we're looking for seems to be buried under all of this other useless info...no...no...ah! I found it!"

She enlarged the part of the file so they could see it better. It read:

**Active: 3 hours ago**

**Last Place Activate: Planet Lumos**

**Original Launch Location: Pegasus Outpost**

"Pegasus Outpost? That is where Ratchet and I fought those robot pirates," Clank said, observing the computer screen "But the pirates have left that place. Someone must have taken residence there and sent those commandos after Ratchet, or a Lombax in general." "But who would want to take Ratchet there?" Circuit asked, somewhat feeling part of the conversation. "Wait, look at this," Talwyn said, scrolling down.

**Last Commander: Lawrence**

"Lawrence? I knew it! I knew that butler bot was no good!" Cronk said, crossing his arms. "You dunderhead! It's Nefarious who's behind this. But Lawrence ain't terribly innocent. So you were half right," Zephyr replied to the accusation. "Oh...then it's Nefarious! I knew it! That crazy old bot is still tryin' to pick a fight with us, well he's got another thing comin'. No one rookie-naps our rookies!" Talwyn waved at them "Quiet you two. So Nefarious was the one who kidnapped Ratchet which isn't really a surprise. I suppose he wants ransom money or something like that. He really needs to ease up on the crime, he's becoming too predictable." Clank put a digit on his chin "Should we just send him bolts in exchange for Ratchet's safety and release?" Talwyn shook her head, then walked a few feet away from the computer. She placed one hand on her hip and smiled "Do you really think that we're about to come quietly to Nefarious? Let's just go to Pegasus Outpost and take Ratchet back ourselves. It's what Ratchet would have done if any of us were taken. Especially if it was you or Cir-" Talwyn was interrupted by Circuit's face. She looked positively horrified. Her purple eyes were wide, she was metaphorically hyperventilating, and she was shaking.

Nefarious. They were going to confront Doctor Nefarious. The whole shooting range incident flashed before her eyes. The beady red eyes, the green but transparent head, the sharp clawed hand reaching for her, it was too much for her. She was about to pull her hood over her eyes when Talwyn placed a hand on her shoulder "I know that this is hard for you. You don't have to go if you don't want to." Circuit looked at her, her hood was already on her head, but she didn't pull them over her eyes. A sudden feeling was rising up inside of her, one that she was not familiar with. But it felt nice, and it filled her with some energy. She shook her head "No, I am going with you. I want to help find Ratchet. Who knows? Maybe Nefarious won't be there or if he is, maybe I won't see him. I just want to go to Pegasus Outpost, get Ratchet, then get out of there." Talwyn nodded with a smile on her face, then she stood up "Alright, we're going to the outpost to get Ratchet back, We'll have to reload the weapons. We leave within the hour."

Clank walked over to Circuit. Though he was happy that she admitted that she wanted to go with them, Nefarious being there or not, but he couldn't help but be concerned. "Circuit, are you sure that this is wise? You are still recovering," he said before she had started walking away. "They do not hurt anymore, and you can hardly see the cracks. That nanotech that you gave me worked great. So I see no reason for me not to go," she said, unzipping her jacket and showing him the almost non-existing cracks. When they had gotten back from Lumos, Clank quickly provided Circuit with nanotech to heal her wounds. She felt the a bit awkward when the nanotech invaded her cuts, but it had worked like a charm. She actually felt great.

"Besides, I have these to protect me," she turned away from his, opened her chest compartment, and pulled out her machete and Ratchet's Omniwrench. Of course, the wrench was still a bit too heavy for her, so she had the top of it on the floor so she only had to hold the weight of the handle. But that didn't stop Clank from noticing her struggle with it "Perhaps I should handle the Omniwrench." He picked the wrench up with ease, like it was as light as cardboard. "Wow, you are strong," Circuit said with a hint of admiration. Clank nearly exploded on the inside again. But the boom was cut short by Talwyn.

"Come on, let's go get our Lombax back!"

* * *

Ratchet had his back against the hard metal wall of his cell. After a quick nap on the floor, he had found himself quite bored fairly quickly. Nefarious was right, he was going to die in this cell. Of boredom of course.

He let out a sigh, wondering where Clank and the others were. He had been there for about two and a half hours and still no sign of them, which was a bit odd. If one of his friends were kidnapped, he would rescue them within ten minutes, destroying whoever kidnapped them along the way. Then again, Clank had been kidnapped, and it took him two years to finally get to him, and he didn't destroy Nefarious, who was the kidnapper. So Ratchet decided to just empty his mind and think of nothing. But he was so bored. Maybe another nap will do to pass the time. He stretched and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. The ground wasn't terribly comfortable but it wasn't terribly uncomfortable. It was good enough to take naps on, and that's all that really mattered to Ratchet.

He placed his head and shoulders on the wall behind him. He was about to close his eyes until he heard a very annoying voice come over some sort of inter-cell speaker.

"Have you changed your mind yet?" Nefarious asked in a curious tone. Ratchet shook his head firmly "No Nefarious, I have not changed my mind. I will not change my mind. I will never give Circuit to you. So just let me go now before my friends get here and wreck up the place." "Silence! And where are these friends, huh? Where are your rescuers? I don't see anyone trying to free you! So you better just give me the girl!" Ratchet shook his head again "It's not going to happen." "Fine! Continue rotting! See what I care!" His yelling was making the speaker sound become static-full and screechy. The Lombax covered his big sensitive ears to try and block it out. Then silence. Nefarious was gone now. Ratchet rubbed his eyes in annoyance "That psycho is going to be the death of me...okay maybe I shouldn't joke about that." He placed his hands behind his head to make the wall more comfortable. Then he looked upwards at the ceiling. He sighed "Please get here soon guys, I can't stand his voice anymore. And please don't bring Circuit."

* * *

"This is Pegasus Outpost?" Circuit asked as Aphelion landed on the surface. The place looked deserted, dark but deserted. It was cold, probably because the outpost was built on an ice moon. Also being located near a blackhole didn't make it the most comfortable place to be. "It does not look very nice." "Well, like I said before, pirates used to be stationed out here. Now hardly anyone comes here," Clank said, climbing out of the cockpit. The two robots hopped off the ship's wing as Talwyn jumped out and looked around "I guess Nefarious decided to bring Ratchet here because it's so deserted, no one would see either of them here. Now then, where do we start looking?"

The five of them looked around, but there was really nothing but abandoned turrets and some withered structures. Circuit had her machete in her right hand, and she could feel herself gripping the handle tight. She could feel something. Something familiar. It wasn't an emotion, it was more of a presence. A very faint presence. Perhaps it was Ratchet she was sensing? Yes, that was it, it had to be him. She was about to say something, but Clank's antennae flashed a few times "I am detecting possible hostile robots. They are about eighty-seven meters to our northeast." "That has to be them," Talwyn said "Who else would be there? Come on, let's get moving." The five started walking in the direction that Clank had told them.

Clank walked alongside Circuit, so seemed to be a bit more confident in herself at the moment. A question has been bugging him ever since Lumos, and he needed an explanation. He cleared his throat "Circuit?" "Yes?" "I have a question. Back on Planet Lumos, your reaction to the commando nearly killing Ratchet and I had somehow made Ratchet's Omniwrench upgrade with the Fire-Bomb Mod. How did you do that?" Circuit shifted uncomfortably on her feet "Um...I actually do not know how I did that. And I prefer if we did not talk about it, please." "Oh, okay. I am sorry for bringing it up," Clank said, now feeling bad for making her uncomfortable. "It is alright. I understand that you are wondering about it. Mostly because I am wondering about it too."

After roughly twelve minutes, Talwyn halted everyone. "Wait," she breathed, loud enough for the others to hear her. At first they were confused, but then they saw them. Two fairly large security bots. Both of them had a large gun equipped in their hand. They were guarding the entrance to a black building. The building itself wasn't very big, it must go somewhat underground. But no doubt that this was where Nefarious was hiding, there was no other explanation for these guards being here.

Talwyn and the others got down low, she whispered "Okay, we need a plan to get in there." The others (except Circuit) started pitching ideas to her, but she quickly made them stop "Okay, okay, don't get our cover blown by your talking. How about this? Me, Cronk and Zephyr will start shooting at these two guards. This will be a distraction so Clank and Circuit can get inside. We'll destroy the guards and hopefully catch up to you two. Does that sound good to you guys?" They nodded, it was a good idea. Talwyn nodded back "Alright, let's go get Ratchet. Clank and Circuit, go over there until the robots start going after us." Clank and Circuit obeyed, and they ran a bit of a distance from the three.

They waited, keeping their eyes on the two security bots. Circuit giggled a tiny bit "I have to admit, this is a bit exciting." "You say that now. Wait until the explosions start," Clank replied. A few silent moments passed, the waiting was one of the hardest parts. But Clank just had to ask Circuit something. Something that had been nagging him ever since they left for the outpost. "Um...Circuit?" The little purple eyed robot glanced at him. "About what we were doing...er, going to do, a-at the space station. If Ms. Apogee had not come into the hallway, were you going to...er, were we going to-I mean, d-did you actually want to um..." Circuit couldn't help but giggle, he didn't know what words to use to describe the sudden moment when they were in the hallway. She had to admit, she didn't one hundred percent know what she was going to do. But with the amount of disappointment she felt when Talwyn had interrupted them, it must have been something that she wanted to do. She looked at Clank, maybe she should do something. After all, Clank deserved it.

"I-I wish that Ms. Apogee had not intruded, well not intruded but uh...interfered with...what I am trying to say is that-" Clank shut up and froze as Circuit kissed him on the cheek. His reaction made her giggle "Is that better?" He didn't know what to say, or do, or think, or process. All he could do was let his shoulders drop and nod once. Circuit tried her best not to laugh harder, they were supposed to remain hidden. They couldn't ruin the plan.

Speaking of the plan...

The sounds of blasters entered the air, startling to the two robots. They looked back the the security guards, they were going after Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr just like they had planned. They had to be quick, very quick. "Come on!" Circuit said, snapping Clank out of his trance. He nodded, grabbed her hand and they ran to the building's entrance. They stopped at the doors, which were not opening. They were locked. It only took Clank a moment to locate a keypad, and it took him less time to decode it. The door opened and they ran inside before anyone could notice. They stepped into a long hallway, which branched off into different hallways.

"What do we do now?" Circuit asked, looking around for any sign of hostile robots. Clank looked around. They couldn't travel in plain sight, they needed some sort of passageway. The solution came quickly. There was an air duct grate a few feet away from them. "Over here," Clank said, pulling Circuit with him over to the air duct's entrance. He took the cover off and let Circuit go inside first. He then entered himself and put the cover back on, hiding them inside the air duct. Circuit let out a big sigh of relief "That was quite a rush. Everything happened so fast." "Yes, I suppose it did. Well...except for one part," Clank said, nearly touching his cheek. She smiled shyly at him. Then she put her hood on her head "Let's go free Ratchet." Clank nodded, and they started walking through the air duct.

Although they were in danger of being discovered, Clank has never been happier.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed, I wanted to get this up before I had to go to sleep.**

**Oh, and nanotech can heal robots if you were questioning that. It heals Clank in the games!**

**Also, dear lord stuff is gonna happen next chapter, surprising stuff.**

**And that little part with Circuit and Clank there was so cute I could hardly type it. Robot love it the cutest kind of love.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus signing off!**


	15. Chapter 15

The two little robots wandered the air vents for quite a long time. They were stepping as lightly as they could so their feet didn't make constant 'clank' sounds. The sound could easily uncover their location, which wouldn't be very good. Clank was in the lead since Circuit knew that he knew what he was doing. However, with the amount of time that they've been travelling through the small space, she wasn't so sure about that.

"Um, Clank?" She said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Where uh...where are going?"

"We are heading to where Nefarious is keeping Ratchet."

"And where is that exactly?"

"Simple, it is...uhhh..." Clank looked around the vent, though there was nowhere really to look. "Perhaps I should have given this a bit more thought. Maybe we should keep walking until I figure something out."

They started walking again. It was starting to get warm in the vent, making Circuit tug at her jacket collar. She really, really did not like heat. And her and Clank not talking to stay hidden made the vent dead silent, which she also didn't like. However, silence gave her time to think, which is always a nice pass time.

Circuit thought about how calm Clank was right now. And how there were infiltrating a supervillain's secret base to rescue a kidnapped Lombax. Also about how they were walking silently so they don't get killed by hostile robots with guns. Was this the hero work that Ratchet had talked about?

The night when Circuit had slept in Ratchet's bed, the two had woken up in the middle of the night. She was unable to go back to sleep, and Ratchet wasn't feeling that tired to just go back to sleep either. So Circuit had asked him to tell her a story about being a hero.

* * *

_"You want to hear about Clank and I's heroic tales?" Ratchet asked, looking down at the little robot resting on his chest. Circuit nodded. He shrugged "Alright, I guess I could tell a tale or two."_

_He cleared his throat._

_"Well, one time I was called in by the owner of the company Megacorp, Abercrombie Fizzwidget-"_

_"What kind of name is that?" Circuit said, trying her very best not to laugh at the name. "I don't know, but you have no idea how hard it was not to laugh when I first heard his name," Ratchet replied._

_"Anyway, he called me in because someone had stolen his experiment, the Protopet. It was a Megacorp product that would be for sale as a pet. After I shot some things, I fought my way to the experiment's location, but the thief took it away before I could retrieve it."_

_"Wait, where was Clank during all of this?"_

_"I'm getting to that part. Anyway, after I went to arena where I blew up a bunch of robots and stuff, the thief sent me a video. He had Clank strapped to a metal table, and told me to return home. Then he electrocuted Clank and said that that would happen to me if I didn't do what he said-"_

_"Wait, was he all right? He wasn't in any pain was he?"_

_"He was fine when I found him and woke him up. So no worries. Now then, we chased after the thief, who wanted to destroy the Protopet. So we battled him, beat him, and get the Protopet back. We met up with Mr. Fizzwidget, who ejected us out of his ship when we were leaving the area. Then we ran into the thief again, who wanted the Protopet back, but he fell down and revealed that HE was a SHE-"_

_"The thief was a GIRL?"_

_Ratchet nodded "Yep, we were about as surprised as you are right now. Her name was Angela, and she was actually trying to save everyone by destroying the Protopet, because it turned out to be extremely hostile. It ate its handlers!"_

_"It ATE its handlers! That horrible!"_

_"Yeah it is! We contacted Fizzwidget and told him to handle the Protopet with extreme caution. We were going to see him in person, but we were arrested-"_

_"What?! You were arrested?!"_

_"Yes we were, I have been in jail! It was actually a very nice jail. We were put away by Thugs-4-Less, a thug organization and some very sensitive yet very bad people. Clank went into an air vent and let me out of the cell , then we went to go and confront Fizzwidget. When we finally found him, he turned out NOT to be Mr Fizzwidget."_

_"What? What do you mean?"_

_"You see, he was never Mr. Fizzwidget, he was Captain Qwark In disguise!"_

_"Captain Qwark? Who is that?"_

_"You remember that guy in green we saw while riding the Bombsled? That was Captain Qwark. He wanted to redeem his hero title by saving the universe from the faulty Protopet and blamed us for distributing it. But when he tried to repair it, he accidentally made the Protopet grow to thirty times its size! It was huge!"_

_"What did you do?"_

_"What I do in every situation like that, I pulled out my R.Y.N.O., which stands for Rip Ya' a New One it's a very big gun, and I battled the creature. It tried to flatten me, stomp on me and eat me, but I pulled through its attacks. I blasted it with me R.Y.N.O. and it fell to the ground in defeat! And that was the day when me and Clank saved the universe for the second time."_

_"Wow, that is amazing! Really, it is! You guys really are heroes!"_

_"And that was only the second time we've saved the universe. I could go on and on about the time we fought Blargian Chairman Drek, or Cragmite Percival Tachyon."_

_"Simply amazing..." Circuit said quietly as she laid her head down on Ratchet's chest. She could hear his heart beating. It was a lovely sound, probably because Ratchet had a heart of gold. She wondered if she could be like him and Clank. She looked up at him "Ratchet, do you think that I could be a hero?"_

_"Of course you could, anyone can be a hero. All you have to do is give them a chance."_

* * *

Circuit shook herself out of her memories. Ratchet had said that she could become a hero, but something told her that he didn't mean it. She didn't really seem like hero material. She was scared of people, had no strength, a horrible fighter as far as she knew, and could hardly shoot a gun. Sure, she was on a dangerous mission right now, but what has she done to help? Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr were the ones who distracted the security guards and Clank was the one leading right now. She was just dead weight. Maybe she should have stayed at the space station like Talwyn had suggested. Clank must have noticed the sad aura coming from her, because he stopped turned around.

"Circuit, is everything alright?"

"...Perhaps it was a mistake for me to come here."

"What? If this is about Nefarious, we can-"

"No, it is not that. Clank, I have not done anything to help in this mission. And I cannot think of anything I can do that will be of any use."

Clank was disappointed. Circuit had been so full of self-confidence when they had left the space station, but she was back to square one suddenly. She was back to dissing herself. Something in her mind made her revert back to this way.

"Why would you say that? What makes you think that you are no use to the plan?"

"Think about it Clank, ever since you found me, I have been of no help. I-"

"Now you stop right there, that is not true! Forgive me for bringing it up after you told me to, but you have helped by somehow upgrading Ratchet's weapon! And that Fire-Bomb Mod may have saved my life. That commando was about to crush my head if Ratchet had not thrown that fireball. So you are helping, Circuit, you really are!"

"..."

"Circuit?"

"..."

"Cir-"

"Shh! Listen..."

Clank shut his mouth and listened. It didn't take him long to hear it. Voices. Several voices. It was coming from an area of the vent that was just twenty feet away from them. The two robots crept very quietly over to the voice's sources, trying their very best not to make any noise. A bluish glow was emanating from the vent's bottom. When they reached the light, they discovered a grate covering another entrance to the air vent. There were several robots talking while computer screens glowed a blue light on the wall. The computer screens came together to form a map of the base, and several parts of it were labelled.

"Those screens display a map of the base," Clank said very quietly. "I need to get a picture of it in my memory banks so we can follow it."

"How are you going to do that? You cannot get a good shot from this angle," Circuit asked, equally quiet.

"I have an idea. It may seem a bit ludicrous, but it is the only option that we have."

Clank grabbed the vent cover and ever so slowly and quietly pulled it into the vent itself. He set it down next to him and looked at Circuit "Circuit, I need you to hold onto my ankles as I drop down into the room." "What?" Circuit said, looking at him like he was crazy. "I am going to take an upside down screenshot of the map, you just need to hold me up by the ankles and pull me up when I have taken the shot. I know that you are not the most strongest person, but we have to try," Clank said, looking down into the room.

"But Clank, what if I accidentally let go of you? Or what if I cannot pull you up? Or-"

"Circuit, no more doubting yourself. You can do this."

"But-"

"No more 'buts'. You can do this, Circuit, I know that you can."

Circuit and Clank stared at each other for what felt like ages. Then Circuit nodded "Alright. Let's do it."

Clank looked into the room, the robots were not facing his direction, so they shouldn't notice him. He looked at Circuit, who nodded again. He got on his knees and plunged halfway into the room, he felt Circuit grab his ankles. He knew that she was struggling a bit, her hands were shaking a bit. She lowered him onto the room, both were very nervous about the chattering robots.

Clank looked at the computer screens. He was swaying a bit, so he did his best to lessen the amount of movement. Then he screenshot the map of the base with an inaudible click. He looked up at Circuit and nodded with a thumbs-up. She nodded back, then attempted to pull him back up. However, it wasn't going well. Circuit hardly had any arm strength, and she was holding Clank at an odd position, making it hard to lift him. Then she made the mistake of letting Clank's leg hit the edge of the air vent's entrance, making a 'clank' noise.

"Huh? Did anyone else hear that?" One of the robots said.

This made both Clank and Circuit's heart nearly stop. Circuit could feel her fear levels growing. They were going to notice him, they were going to notice Clank hanging out of the vent. They were going to discover them and kill them. A sudden energy filled Circuit's robotic muscles. Clank's weight was suddenly lessened, it felt like he was as heavy as a stack of papers. She adjusted her grip on his ankles and pulled him up quickly, dragging him onto the vent floor. Then she sat down, theoretically gasping for air. Clank stood up and brushed himself off. He looked at her.

"Well done. See? You are helping. You helped me avoid being shot at by a bunch of hostiles robots. Anyway, I have the map."

He brought up a picture of the map into his vision, so Circuit couldn't really see it.

"There are several prison looking cells to our east, and only one is occupied. No doubt that Ratchet is sitting in there waiting for us."

Clank removed the map from his vision, only to see Circuit tiredly sitting up against the vent's wall. She took her put her hood down "I think that I am going to leave this down for awhile. The darkness that it forms in my vision makes me feel even more imprisoned than I already am I in these vents." Clank offered her a hand and helped her up. He smiled.

"I like it better when your hood is down."

"Why?"

"Because I can see your eyes better."

* * *

Ratchet paced back and forth in his cell. He was starting to get a bit impatient. Also, he really didn't care for being locked up in a metallic cell for hours on end. Not to mention the the place didn't have a bathroom or anything. And Nefarious constantly coming over the speaker asking him if he had changed his mind wasn't too pleasant either. Speaking of Nefarious, the crackle of the cell's speaker came on.

"Have you changed-"

"NO!"

"Geez, no need to yell."

And like that, Nefarious was gone once more. Ratchet didn't know how much more he could take of this. He wished that someone would come and free him, he didn't care who it was anymore. It could be Captain Qwark for all he cared, he just wanted out. He had considered freeing himself, but there was no way that he could do that, he didn't have any weapons or gadgets on him. And the cell door was made of steel that opened with a lock or something from the outside. Even then, if the lock was on the inside, he wouldn't know how to decide it. Decoding was Clank's thing. And for all he knew, Clank was somewhere far away.

Or at least he thought he was.

As Ratchet stopped pacing, his ears twitched and the fur on the back of his neck stood up. Something was there. He listened closely so he could detect whatever was making the noise. He could make out distinct 'clank' noises. But it wasn't coming from behind, in front or even below him. No, it was coming from ABOVE him. HE looked up at the ceiling. Something was in the air vent. Or someone. Ratchet smiled and folded his arms

"It's about time."

* * *

"I believe that this is it," Clank said, checking the map in his head. Then he looked down at the vent's floor "Ratchet's cell should be just below us." Circuit tapped the floor a few times with her foot "How are we going to get out of here? I do not see any grates or anything."

"Simple, you just need to upgrade the wrench again. We will use the Fire-Bomb Mod to melt a hole the vent's floor," Clank said, pulling out Ratchet's Omniwrench.

"But Clank, I cannot do that-"

"Yes you can, you doubt yourself too-"

"No, really, I cannot do that. For some reason, I am only able to upgrade weapons when I experience a severe level of fear. That is why Ratchet's Ommiewrench-"

"Omniwrench."

"Whatever. That is why Ratchet's weapon upgraded back on Lumos. I was scared that the commando was going to kill you two."

"Oh..." Clank said quietly, looking at the normal Omniwrench. Then he looked back up "Well, this vent seems to be made out of decently thin metal. Maybe we can break though if I push on it with the wrench and you push on it with your machete." Circuit nodded in agreement, removing the machete from her jacket. Before they had left the space station, she had sewn in a thin pocket to store her machete. It would hurt if she had to store it in her chest compartment.

The two robots grabbed their weapons and placed the tops of them on the floor. Then they grabbed the handles tightly and pushed down with all of their might. It worked like a charm. The combined weapons and strength forced a hole into the metal. Clank pushed the edges of the hole to make it bigger so they would fit through.

After putting their weapons away, thy dropped through the hole and landed on the ground. Clank landed on his feet, Circuit did not. She landed on her back, and groaned in pain, she was not the most athletic robot.

"Are you alright?" Clank asked, helping her up. She nodded, rubbing the back of her shoulder. They turned around and saw a giant metal door. The door to Ratchet's cell. Clank looked around for something that would unlock it, he quickly located some sort of panel embedded in the wall next to the door. He observed it.

"What is it?" Circuit asked.

"It is some sort of control panel for the door. It looks like it unlocks with some sort of code, but a more advanced code than the keypad outside. I will have to hack it myself."

Clank looked at the base of the panel, where he found a small door. He opened it to reveal a hidden circular port. He bent down low and inserted his antennae into it, then he began the process of hacking the panel. Circuit watched him with one hand on the cell door. To think, a sheet of metal separated her and Ratchet. She could barely hear him walking in there, it sounded like he was pacing.

"Err..."

Circuit turned her attention towards Clank, who was making tiny sounds of distress. His eyes were shut tight, and he looked a bit uncomfortable. Circuit didn't know much about hacking, but it looked hard. Clank looked like he was facing quite the challenge.

After about to minutes, Clank let out a sound of relief, but he let out a small yelp as he received a small shock to the antennae. He quickly removed it and fell to his knees, theoretically gasping. Circuit rushed to his side and helped him up "What is wrong? Are you okay?" "I am fine," Clank said, getting to his feet then rubbing his head "I was just not expecting that challenging of a puzzle. I almost gave up a few times. Plus, receiving a shock to the antennae is never pleasant."

The cell door unlocked and opened. Ratchet was standing near the doorway with his arms crossed "I was wondering when you were going to get here. Nearly six hours, not bad." He quickly located Circuit, who was smiling at him, his ears dropped.

"What is she doing here?"

"She wanted to come and find you," Clank said.

"Oh-no, no this is not good."

"What? Why?" Circuit asked.

"We need to get out of here, now."

"Ratchet, what is the-" Clank was cut off.

"Nefarious wants Circuit. That's why he kidnapped me. He said that he would let me go if I gave her to him."

"What?! Why does he want me?" Circuit asked, a bit panicky.

"He thinks that you have secret plans in your memory banks. But we're not gonna let him get near you. Let's go."

Ratchet grabbed Circuit and Clank jumped onto his back, then they started running down the hallway.

* * *

"I'm telling you, he's not going to give in so we should just kill him!" Nefarious said, leaning back in his chair while looking away from the cell monitor. "I would agree with you sir, but he is our only chance of getting her. If we kill him, then we have nothing to lure them in with," Lawrence said folding laundry. He didn't know why he was folding laundry anyway, they didn't wear any clothes, just metal paint that looked like clothes.

"Eh, I'll see if he's changed his mind again, maybe the constant asking will annoy him to the point of breaking down," Nefarious said, about to turn around.

"I see a problem with that, sir," Lawrence said.

"What? What do you mean?"

"It seems that your prisoner is escaping."

"WHAT?!"

Nefarious turned around and saw Ratchet leaving the cell. Clank had hacked the panel and released him. Now there he was, reuniting with his annoying robot sidekick and his-

Nefarious grabbed the monitor to get a closer look at the third person. Silver, black jacket, purple eyes...

"IT'S HER! SHE'S HERE! THE IDIOTS BROUGHT HER WITH THEM!"

"Should I deploy security bots sir?"

"...No. No, not this time. It's time, let him out Lawrence. It's time to watch little reunion."

* * *

Ratchet ran through the hallways. The base was bigger like he had expected, it was almost like a maze.

"Clank, are you sure that I'm going the right way?"

"Yes, I am sure, just keep going forward, then make the first right that you see."

Ratchet held Circuit tightly in his arms. He had her hood pulled over her eyes, just in case they were caught on one of Nefarious's cameras. He didn't want Nefarious to recognize her. And something told him that Circuit didn't want the psycho to see her either. The hologram incident flashed in his memory, he didn't want her to go through that again. Especially with the real Nefarious.

Ratchet turned right down another hallway.

"We are getting near the entrance. Just two more right and a left and we should be there," Clank said, checking the map.

Ratchet tried to focus on his breathing, he was running faster than usual. Probably because there was psychotic robot trying to take a little girl, who was currently in his arms. That tends to make you run away.

More hallways, he made sure that he ran the right direction. Right. Right. Left. There is was, the entrance was at the end of the long hallway.

"Almost there!" Ratchet said. His legs were nearly ready to give out. But he wouldn't let them. They were so close, he couldn't give up now. He wasn't willing to stop.

But he was forced to.

Something caught his ankle, and the force of him running make him jerk forward and fall to the ground, making Clank and Circuit fly about ten feet. They landed hard on the ground. Most of the hallways lights went out, making it fairly dark. The slamming of metal was heard. Ratchet didn't see his two robots anymore, just a meal barrier. Except he wasn't the one trapped this time.

Clank and Circuit were startled by two metal barriers trapping them. The doors were about twenty five feet apart, which was a concerning amount of space for just two small robots.

Turns out that there weren't just two of them.

Something came down from the ceiling and tackled Clank to the ground. After taking him down, it kicked him a few times, then placed a foot on his chest compartment, pinning him.

"Hey, get off of him!" Circuit yelled at him. It turned its head to face her, and she gasped. It had to giant red eyes, like the shadowy figure from her nightmare. It moved a bit so it could come more into the light, making her eyes go wide. It looked exactly like her and Clank. The only difference was that he looked a bit dirty, he had several scratches, and this metallic goatee. This was him. The third robot Ratchet had told her about.

"You...you are Klunk," she said quietly. Klunk nodded and said in a voice that sounded just like Clank's, except a bit deeper and unsettling "You know me-"

"Circuit! Get away from him!" Clank yelled, but he soon yelped in pain as Klunk stepped on his harder. "Quiet you!"

"I said get off of him!" Circuit said, who couldn't stand the sound of Clank in pain. She fumbled for her machete, grasping its handle and pointed it at Klunk. But he simply grabbed the blade and took it from her hands. He chuckled.

"Why thank you. Now I can finally keep him still."

Klunk kept a hold on the machete's blade, pointing the hard handle down. He thrusted it downward with a good chunk of strength and smashed Clank's ankle. Clank yelled in pain and grabbed his ankle. Klunk laughed at his pain, and Circuit was horrified. She cried out "Why? Why did you do that?"

"I had to. I can't let you hang around with a strange robot like him, after all..."

His blood red eyes glared at her.

"A brother must protect his sister."

* * *

**Brilliant Green. Calming Purple. And Blood Red. We now have our three colors.**

**Oh, and: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! Nearly forgot that part.**

**Also, I decided to give Klunk his goatee from Secret Agent Clank. He just looks so much better with it. If you haven't seen it then look it up on Google Images.  
**

**So anyway, this part was going to be uploaded sooner, but for some reason when I went to save part of it, it actually DELETED part of it and took me to TWITTER for some reason. Technology can be a jerk sometimes.**

**Make sure to leave a review while pick up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	16. Chapter 16

**WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A FAIRLY LARGE AMOUNT OF VIOLENCE AND ROBOT BLOOD. THIS IS WHEN THE T RATING STARTS TO KICK IN. ENJOY!**

* * *

"What...what did you just say?" Circuit asked very quietly, eyes wide. "You...you are my-"

"Brother? Yes, that's what I said. Are you shocked or did you have trouble hearing me the first time?" Klunk asked, highly amused at Circuit's expression. "Then again, all siblings have their flaws. I have a terrible sense of manners and you have bad hearing...and you appear to be flat." He walked over to her and grabbed both of her arms, observing her. This made Clank very angry, and he struggled to get up. Klunk squinted his eyes and looked at Circuit's face "You are a girl, right?"

It was then Circuit realized that by the word 'flat', he was referring to her...

She quickly threw him off of her and zipped up her jacket, her face metaphorically turned bright red. "I do not know where you get your facts from, but we are not related." She didn't know why she was suddenly saying this, but him pointing out parts of her like that infuriated and annoyed her. Klunk laughed "Are you serious? Is she serious?" He jokingly asked Clank, who was trying his very best to ignore the pain of his freshly smashed ankle. He picked up and twirled Circuit's machete in his hand "Look, I'll prove it to you."

Klunk took the machete's blade and made a quick slice in his arm, making oil spill out of it. Robot blood. "Now give me your arm. Don't worry, it won't hurt...that much."

Circuit started backing up as he walked towards her. His blood red eyes piercing her calming purple ones. This robot was insane. She could see it. Ratchet had told her about how insane Doctor Nefarious was, and no doubt he passed some of that craziness to Klunk.

The red eyed robot grabbed hold of her jacket, then grabbed her arm. In one painful swipe, he cut open part of the metal surface, making Circuit's blood pour out. He tapped his chin "Hm, more blood than I intended to spill, but it'll do. Now then, analyze your blood, then analyze mine. See anything similar?"

Circuit scanned her blood, which was making the tiniest pool on the floor.

Oil Type: Unknown Substance

Then, though she hesitated at first, she scanned Klunk's blood, which was leaking out in little droplets.

Oil Type: Unknown Substance

"Un...unknown substance?"

"That's right," Klunk said, wiping oil off of his lower forearm "we don't have a registered oil type. You know why? It's because our oil was...how should I put this? Homemade. You see, our creator wanted us, or should I see me, to have an oil type unlike any other. He wanted us, again, me, to be unique. So, he brewed up his own oil and inserted it into everything that we made that would come to life. We have the same unknown oil, and we are therefore siblings. And what ARE you looking at?"

Circuit hadn't been looking at Klunk for most of that explanation. She heard it thought, and she was trying not to die on the inside or breakdown. But her eyes were focused on something behind Klunk. Something that wasn't very happy. Something with a weapon raised up in the air.

Something hopping on one leg.

Clank came up behind Klunk, and in one epic move, whacked him across the head with Ratchet's Omniwrench. The red eyed robot slammed into the ground, moaning. Then he lifted his head, while rubbing the back of it, and glared at Clank. "You're going to pay for that you son of a bitch!" Klunk gripped the machete's blade, swung around, and, in one slice, cut Clank's left leg off. Circuit screamed as Clank fell to the ground, oil starting to flow out of his wound. The Omniwrench slid out of his grip and over to Circuit's feet. Klunk grabbed Clank's throat and pulled him upwards a bit "I was dead for nearly six years because of you and your rat friend! Now I think it's your turn to face death!"

"No!" Circuit rushed over and grabbed Klunk, trying to pull him off of Clank. "Stay out of this!" Klunk turned around and punched Circuit square in the face, sending her back a few feet. She sat up, she tasted oil. And not the good kind. She didn't know what to do at this point. Klunk was too strong, but she couldn't let Clank be killed. If only there was something that would help, but she couldn't think straight. It felt like her chest was on fire, her heart was beating so...

'Wait, fire!'

Circuit quickly located Ratchet's Omniwrench lying just inches away from her. It's surface still a flawless blue. But she wasn't looking for blue.

Circuit grabbed the wrench's handle, then she took some theoretical deep breaths. 'Come on, you can do this. You have done it before. Just feel your heart racing, your blood pumping, your grip tightening. Do it!' She could feel it. She could feel the warm glow of her touch illuminate the Omniwrench's entire being. Then she could feel the heat of the flames that were stored inside the wrench, and the flame that danced at the top. Before she did anything with it, her gaze went from the wrench to the metal barrier behind her.

Klunk had already raised the machete, ready to separate Clank's head from his body when the bright light filled the room.

"What the...?"

He turned around, just to be blinded by the light. He had no idea what it was or where it was coming from. But it took him a second to see what was coming out of it. A fireball flew from the light and smacked him right in the face. Klunk flew a few feet, dropping the machete in the process. Clank sat up, though he was weak. He smiled, thinking that Circuit finally gained the strength to attack with the Omniwrench. But, he was a bit disappointed when the light cleared. The disappearing light revealed an angry Ratchet, holding the Fire-Bomb Omniwrench in his hand. And behind him was a melted hole inside the metal barrier. But he nearly dropped it when he saw Clank.

"Clank! You're bleeding! And your leg, where is it?"

"Right here," Circuit said, holding up the disembodied leg.

Ratchet sighed as he took Clank's leg. He put it in his pocket, then noticed Circuit's arm and jaw "You're bleeding too." He angrily grabbed his weapon and pointed it towards Klunk, who was trying to wipe the burn mark off of his face "What the hell did you do to them?" Klunk opened his mouth to most likely offer a rude comment, but the opening of the second metal barrier stopped him. The ugly silver face of Doctor Nefarious entered.

"Now, now Ratchet. Why don't you you pick on someone your own size?"

Ratchet growled and rolled his eyes. But then he became extraordinarily defensive as Nefarious's gaze went to Circuit, who was practically frozen. Her fear wouldn't let her body move. Her heart was racing at an unhealthy level again, she might as well have had a heart attack. The silver face, the green head, the claw like hands. It was him. It was Nefarious. And he was looking right at her. Then, he spoke to her, but in a way that sounded like he cared about her.

"Error! There you are! I've been so worried about you. Lawrence has been worried as well."

The butler bot nodded at the little robot "Good to see you ma'am. And might I say that your eyes are still as lovely as ever."

Circuit didn't want to, but she was forced to blush. She always seems to blush when someone compliments her eyes. Nefarious held out a hand to her "Error, you don't belong with these two idiots. Come back to us, you belong with villainy. You were built to be evil after all."

"WHAT?!" Circuit yelled.

"What do you mean what? I thought that you knew! Sure, you never really acted evil back then, but you were still built for it."

Ratchet pushed Nefarious back and aimed his Fire-Bomb at him "Leave her alone, Nefarious. She doesn't remember anything. I tried to tell you that. And she's not going to join you, she's not evil."

"So, she really hasn't told you anything?"

"No, that's what I've been saying!"

"Oh...well then. I see that there's no point in continuing this conversation then. Since she is the only reason we're here, and she is of no use to me now, I think it's time to make our grand exit."

Nefarious pulled out a black remote with a red button on it, and Ratchet already had a guess of what it does. It's always an explosion.

"Klunk get over here!" Nefarious yelled. The red eyed robot nodded and walked over to him. Nefarious's finger hovered over the red button, but he waved with his other hand "Nice seeing you Error. Such a shame that we put all of this together just for you, but turns out that you're worthless. You've already died once, so this shouldn't be as bad as the first time we killed you."

Klunk laughed in his eerie dark Clank voice and waved goodbye as well "Goodbye sister. Sad that I have to see you go. On the bright side, I'll be an only child again. Hehehehehe!"

Nefarious clicked the red button and the three robots teleported to who knows where. His and Klunk's evil laugh still lingered Ratchet's ears twitched as he heard booms in the distance. The base was starting to blow up, area by area.

"We have to go! Now!" Ratchet grabbed his two robots, ignoring all the oil that was spilling on his clothes. He also grabbed Circuit's machete in the progress. Then he started running forward. HE was already near the entrance, but he could hear the booms getting very close. He could feel them pulse through his body like a large heartbeat. Clank and Circuit could feel it too. As much as they were close to the entrance, it was going to be a close one.

Ratchet could feel the heat of the fire gaining on them. But they were so close, he needed to ignore the explosions going on behind him and focus on his running.

They barely made it.

Ratchet ran out the entrance and jumped down, shielding the two robots from the now exploding entrance. He could feel the heat on his back. It didn't burn him, but it was still very hot.

The explosions stopped after a while and all the remained was a smoldering pile of what used to be Nefarious's base. Ratchet coughed up ashes and other debris as the two robots crawled out from underneath him. He looked up at them, finally done "That robot is truly insane! All three of them are truly insane! They just tried to blow us up! I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that Circuit...Circuit?"

Circuit wasn't listening to anything. Not Ratchet, not the roaring fire, nothing. She was hugging herself, her purple eyes wide, and her whole body was shaking. Evil. She was built for evil. She is not a good robot. Some sort of weapon, that's what she was. Why else would she be able to create deadly weapons with just a single fearful touch? And Nefarious, he appeared to have cared about her. But when he found out that she was useless to him, he simply forgot about her. It was so fast too. He went from caring to not interested at all. Is that really what a supervillain was like? It must be, because Nefarious was one.

And Klunk...Klunk was her brother. She had a sibling, who was evil. They were both created at the hands of Nefarious, they even have the exact same blood. But were brothers usually that rude and mean? Or was it just her who was suffering in her siblings-ship? She had so many questions but so little answers. She just wanted to curl up and die.

"This must be hard for you," Ratchet said, walking up next to her. She nodded, not responding or even looking at him. "Listen Circuit, I-"

"I am not the one who needs your attention right now. The one who needs you is Clank, he is severely injured. Please do not waste your time with me."

"But-"

"Ratchet!" Talwyn yelled. She ran over to him, she looked very panicked. Her eyes reflected the flames that were left. She hugged him "I thought that you were dead! I saw the explosion and I thought...oh I'm just happy that you're alright."

"I wish I could say the same thing for those two," Ratchet said, nodding his head towards Clank and Circuit. Talwyn looked at them and covered her mouth. She did not expect to see two robots covered in oil blood. "What happened?! Who did this to you?" She asked, getting in her knees. She wanted to hug them, but she was afraid that that would hurt them even more.

"We are fine Ms. Apogee. Just a little broken. Klunk attacked us, but Circuit's quick thinking with the Fire-Bomb Omniwrench saved my life. That's the second time in twenty four hours," Clank said, covering up his leg wound. He was trying to cheer Circuit up by complimenting her, but it didn't work one bit. She was still wide eyed and shaking. Talwyn noticed this.

"Circuit, are you okay? You don't look to good-"

Ratchet quickly grabbed her shoulder, shaking his head. Talwyn stood up and he whispered to her.

"She doesn't want to talk about it."

"Why? What happened?"

"She just found out things about herself that she'd rather not know."

"What? You don't mean that...that Nefarious..."

Ratchet nodded sadly "It's messed her up a little bit. If you don't mind, I think that we should go back to Kerwan. We'll go home, let her rest and recover, and hopefully she'll be better after that."

"Of course. I don't want her to be forced to stay at the station. Just call me when she starts feeling better. I don't want to worry."

"Yeah, I will."

Ratchet turned around and looked at his two broken robots "Come on guys, we're going home. I need to repair the two of you and all of my good tools are back at our apartment." He lifted both robots, one in each arm. Just like when they had crashed the Bombsled into that fountain. Except this time there was oil blood leaking onto his fur. He didn't mind though, it's not like they can control it or anything.

"Hold still darn it!"

Cronk and Zephyr were over by the ships, and Cronk's head had came off again. They noticed Ratchet.

"Hey look, the rookie's alive! Oh, and sorry you two. We would have come sooner, but that darn security guard called in backup. They were shootin' at us like there was no tomorrow. Nearly took my head off," Cronk said.

"They did take your head off, ya old coot!"

"Hey! Say that to my face when you put it back on my body!"

As confused and depressed as she was, Circuit couldn't help but laugh at the two warbots. She liked Cronk and Zephyr, they were amusing to her.

Ratchet was happy to hear Circuit laugh. After everything that had just happened, he didn't know when he would hear her laugh again. It wasn't Clank's unique laugh, but it was still a very cute one.

Little did he know that he would be hearing a lot of it that evening.

* * *

**If this chapter seemed rush, I am sorry. I wanted to post this before bed. But don't worry, I only have two days of school left until Summer Break, so I'll have A LOT more time to write. 3 months to be exact.**

**So yeah, now you know why this story is rated T now. There will be some fairly violent parts. And I hope that y'all are okay with that.**

**Also, why I didn't say this before I don't know, but if any of you have a Twitter account, be sure to follow me. I am Swords Evelyn (insert at sign)DiamondLordess. I'm only saying this because sometimes I post previews of new chapters of this story and even give you hints about what's going to happen. So follow me if you want to.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	17. Chapter 17

**WARNING! The next two chapters of this story will contain vast amounts of the feels. I suggest that you reserve a bed at the Feels Hospital before they are all taken up. Enjoy!**

* * *

The ride back went in silence. Circuit, who basically stared out the window the whole time, was occupying the passenger's seat. Clank was put in the backseat so he could lay down and rest. Ratchet didn't think that either of them were in the mood to talk, so he just kept his mouth shut. But that didn't stop him from glancing at the two every once in awhile to make sure that they were okay.

When they arrived back at the apartment, Ratchet immediately took the two to his garage workshop so he could repair them. He fixed Circuit first since she only needed to have the deep cut on her arm patched up. The little robot couldn't help but wince as Ratchet worked on her arm, it was a very painful cut. But, after he was done, it hardly hurt at all.

After being repaired, Circuit quickly jumped off the workbench so Ratchet could start on Clank. But she felt something grab her hood and she was lifted back onto the table.

"Hey, hey, you're not done yet," Ratchet said, releasing her hood. He pulled out a roll of gauze and threw it up and down a few times. "We can't risk more oil leakage." Circuit said nothing as Ratchet wrapped a layer of bandages around her arm wound. She thought that it was highly unnecessary, there was no chance of more oil leaking out of the wound, it was sealed fairly well. She knew that Ratchet was making her stay around longer because he knew that she was a bit depressed. But all she wanted right now was to lay down and take a nap. She was so tired.

"There," Ratchet said, cutting the end of the gauze. Circuit rubbed the surface of her left arm, the bandages were soft. But they was a bit scratchy. She didn't complain though, she knew that Ratchet only wanted to help her recover. But she knew that Clank was the one who needed medical attention right now, so she simply jumped off the table again and started walking towards the apartment door.

"Where are you going?" Ratchet asked as he lifted Clank onto the workbench. Clank was shut down so he didn't feel anymore pain when Ratchet started working on him.

"I am going to bed," Circuit said, looking over her shoulder.

"Right now? It's only 7:56. Maybe you should stay in here."

"Ratchet, please, I am tired. I want to go to bed."

"...Alright. But call me if you need anything."

Circuit nodded, smiling a little. Then she exited the garage and entered the apartment. It was a beautiful sunset, but she hardly noticed it. Her vision was going in and out of blurriness. She's never been this tired before.

She entered her bedroom, letting out a great big yawn as she walked over to the desk chair. Her black jacket slid off of her arms and into her hands. She draped it over the back of the chair, then climbed into bed shortly afterwards. The covers weren't as warm, probably because she didn't sleep in it the previous night.

Her body slipped under the blanket and it felt unusually good. Her body had been aching all day, so getting to relax it was complete heaven. She could feel herself slipping away the second her head hit the pillow. And within seconds, she was asleep.

* * *

_Circuit's eyes opened. It was dark again. It was always dark whenever she was in this place. It wasn't exactly scary, but it wasn't pleasant._

_She noticed that her reflection was staring right back at her. She was standing in front of some sort of large mirror or reflective surface. The reflection, as it should, did everything that she did. Her feet started moving, and she walked right up to the mirror. She placed her hands on it, only for her reflection to put its hands on hers._

_But then the reflection's figure went dark. The outline was still there, but its whole being was now pitch black. After a few moments, its color came back, except it wasn't Circuit's reflection anymore. Instead of her calming purple, she was met with a brilliant green color._

_It was Clank._

_As weird as this was, she smiled at Clank. It took a second but he smiled back. Circuit giggled a little, making Clank giggle a little._

_Except it wasn't Clank laughing._

_The laugh was deep and unsettling. Circuit, who was startled by the laugh, tried to pull her hands off of the mirror, but they wouldn't come off. She was stuck._

_Clank closed his eyes and shook his head, then he opened them to reveal blood red eyes. The reflection removed its own hands from the mirror surface, and laughed at Circuit's struggling. She was tying her best, but her hands wouldn't come off._

_The reflection's hand reached out, and went through the mirror and grabbed Circuit by the throat. It raised a fist and launched it forward, making tons of cracks in Circuit's vision. She heard the sound of crashing glass._

_The mirror had broken._

* * *

Circuit gasped as she woke up. Her body was tense and shaking just the slightest amount. It had happened again. Another nightmare. She should be used to these by now, but she became more and more disturbed with each dream. It was some sort of curse that she didn't deserve.

She glanced at the clock. 9:12 PM. She had slept for a little over an hour. But her constant nightmares always tormented her when she was asleep. She didn't like having nightmares, it always ended in someone getting hurt, whether it was her or someone else.

She sat up, took the covers off her her body, and back up against the wall. She curled into a little upright ball, and rocked herself back and forth a little. So much has been happening to her. During the day she was always scared of people and leaving the building. During the night she had horrible nightmares that would keep her awake for hours on end. Why? Why was this happening to her? She's been a good robot, but bad things were still happening to her.

As much as she tried to stop them, a few tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She just wanted to disappear.

* * *

Ratchet and Clank were sitting on the living room couch, flipping through TV channels. There was never anything good on during the nighttime. So They just turned on recorded episodes of Behind the Hero to pass the time.

Ratchet looked at Clank "How's your leg?"

Clank rubbed the leg wound lightly "It is healing fine. But I will need to minimize my walking distance for the next two days or so."

"And your ankle?"

"Same thing."

"Well, that's alright. That means we get to relax, watch TV and play video games for the next few days."

"But, Ratchet, what about Nefarious?"

"I told you, we're not getting involved with him anymore. We're supposed to be retired, remember? I know that we both said that we prefer hero work, but we should be allowed to make an exception with Nefarious. Let the Galactic Rangers handle him this time."

"I guess that is reasonable. Oh, and, here."

Clank opened his chest compartment and handed Ratchet his Omniwrench. He had stored it when they were flying away from the outpost. Ratchet nodded.

"Thanks, I'm gonna go put this away real quick."

The Lombax stood up, Omniwrench in hand, and left the living room and started down the hallway. Ratchet walked past Circuit's bedroom door, but he stopped before he could get to his own bedroom's door. His ears twitched, he could hear sounds of distress. It sounded like it was coming from Circuit's room. He stepped in front of her door and put one of his large ears up to it. Yup, it was her. Ratchet quickly opened the door and looked around. It only took him a second to find Circuit, sitting up and hugging her knees, sobbing.

"Circuit, what's wrong?" Ratchet said, walking over to her. He sat down next to her as she wiped her eyes.

"Nothing. I am fine."

"Don't lie to me. If this about Nefarious, I-"

"No, no it is not that."

"Really? What is it then?"

"I just had another nightmare. Nothing to worry about."

"Wait, _another_ nightmare? You've had nightmares before?"

Circuit nodded sadly "I have nightmares all the time. The only time when I don't have them is when someone is with me when I fall asleep."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, they are just dreams. I should not have to bother you because of something that is not real."

This bothered Ratchet a lot. Circuit having nightmares and not telling him, that did not sit with him very well. Yes, the nightmares were not real, but that's not a reason to not seek comfort. Circuit seemed to have really big issues with bringing her problems onto other people, and he couldn't really blame her. She was polite and kept her problems to herself. But, still, it was a bit heartbreaking knowing that she was having nightmares and never tells anyone. He needed to comfort her in away that was self supporting. He nuzzled her antennae with his hand

"Well, I'm always here for you if one of your nightmares goes too far for your liking. I have to hand it to you, having nightmares without wanting comfort is kind of a brave thing to do. You're one tough robot."

"I am tough?" Circuit asked, looking at Ratchet with her head tilted.

"Yeah you are. Just like me and Clank."

"No way, you too are more tough than I am."

"How do you know?"

"I uh...I do not know. I really do not know how tough I am. Maybe I am at your level and maybe I am not. I do not know."

"Let's have a little duel," Ratchet said, grabbing his Omniwrench. Him grabbing his weapon frightened Circuit, she thought that he was going to hit her with it. But, to her surprise, Ratchet dropped the wrench into her hands.

"I want you to try to hit me this."

"What?!" She somewhat yelled.

Ratchet nodded "If you can hit me before I make you fall down, I will declare you tougher than me."

"Aren't you making this a bit too easy?" She asked, looking at the wrench.

"Hey, you never know if you'll win or lose a fight, no matter how easy it looks," Ratchet said "Now then, try to hit me. Unless you don't think that you're tough."

"I am too! I...I am the toughest one here!" Circuit said, struggling with the weight of the wrench. She wasn't really going to hit him with it, she was going to tap him on the head with it or just thrust it down next to him. It'll still prove a point.

After a few tries, she lifted the wrench over her head, trying her best not to fall backwards. She was ready to launch it when Ratchet made his move. He stuck out a finger and tickled her stomach, making her tense up. She closed her mouth and tried to hold it in, she was tough, she would not give in. But it quickly became too much, she was too ticklish for her to handle much more. She burst into laughter within moments. The laughter weakened her arm muscles, and the weight of the Omniwrench made her fall backwards onto the bed.

"No tickling! That is cheating!" Circuit said through her laughter. Ratchet drew his finger back and shook his head "There is no cheating in a fight. You always have to be prepared for every possibility."

The little robot looked a bit disappointed in herself, but her disappointment disappeared when Ratchet spoke. Her mood turned into more of a terrified and playful feeling. "Anyway, I have made you fall on the battlefield, and until you can out maneuver me and get back up," he held up his hands "you shall feel my wrath!" "No!" Circuit pleaded, but Ratchet's hands went under her arms. Once again, she tried to hold it in, but her underarms were terribly ticklish, and she lost it within seconds. She squirmed and tried her very best to push Ratchet's arms away, but he was too strong for her. So all she could do was curl up into a metallic ball of laughter.

"Y-y-you pr-promised!"

"I didn't promise anything. Actually, I believe that I said 'no promises'. So I can do this all I want."

So Ratchet continued on. Circuit's laugh went on and on. It really was an adorable laugh, and he loved hearing it. Not even fifteen seconds had gone by when Circuit started pleading for mercy.

"Pl-please! No more! N-n-no more!"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop."

Ratchet seized his tickling and brought his hands back. Circuit laid there, her hand on her chest compartment door, theoretically gasping for air. She looked up at Ratchet "I do not think that I am tough."

"Why? Because you're ticklish?"

"No...well yes, but I fell down so easily. It was pathetic."

"Nah, you just need a bit of training, that's all. If you want to become tough like me and Clank, I'll help you."

"Thank you Ratchet."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. The sound of Circuit's laugh still lingered in Ratchet's ear. But it faded when she started talking again. He noticed the sad look on her face.

"I do not want to have anymore nightmares."

"Well, I don't really have control over when you have nightmares or not. I'm sorry Circuit, I really wish that I could help you with this...wait a minute."

"What?"

"Earlier, you said that you don't have nightmares when someone, preferably me or Clank, is there with you when you're asleep."

"Yes."

"...Wait right here," Ratchet said as he got up off the bed and walked out the room. He entered his bedroom and looked around for a minute until he located it. A small Lombax plushie sitting on a shelf. He's had this stuffed animal for as long as he could remember. It resembled him greatly, it even had the same fur pattern and color. The only difference were the eyes, they were just black buttons. He took the plushie off the shelf and exited the room, only to enter Circuit's again.

"Maybe you don't need specifically me or Clank to not have nightmares. Maybe you just need to know that at least something's there to comfort you," Ratchet said as he handed Circuit the stuffed Lombax. She observed it, then she giggled.

"It looks just like you."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

She stroked one of the plushie's ears, a tiny frown came upon her face.

"What's wrong?" Ratchet asked, sitting down next to her again.

"Its fur is not as soft as yours," she said looking up at him.

"Oh yeah? Well, some parts they can just never get right. You can never truly replicate the real thing."

Ratchet scolded himself for saying that, given what Circuit is. A clone of Clank. But she didn't seem to notice that last comment, which filled him with relief. He stood up and grabbed his Omniwrench.

"Well, I have to go back to Clank now. He doesn't find the Behind the Hero reruns as entertaining if I'm not there commentating. I make the most horrible jokes while watching that show and he still finds them funny. Do you want to come?"

Circuit shook her head "No, I am still tired from before. Thank you for the stuffed animal though."

"Ah, it was nothing. I don't want you having nightmares, you don't deserve them."

Circuit yawned and she laid down, placing her head on the comfortable pillow, the Lombax plushie in her arms. Ratchet took the comforter and covered her up with it, then tucked her in.

"Goodnight Ratchet," she said weakly. She was already falling asleep. Ratchet smiled and rubbed the side of her head.

"Goodnight Circuit."

He walked out of the room and closed the door as quietly as possible. He had this feeling in his chest that he's never felt before. And it was then when he started to consider that maybe Talwyn was right about his relationship with Circuit.

Perhaps he did love her like a daughter.

* * *

**Hurry up! Beds are being taken up fast! The feels guy! The FEELS!**

**I got this chapter up really fast because I had already written a good chunk of it yesterday. And I couldn't wait to post it, because cuteness! And I REALLY can't wait to post the next chapter!**

**Also, I ordered a Clank plushie off of Amazon! He should be here by either tomorrow or Thursday! So excited! He'll be in my arms every night over the summer and when I go camping, I will not spend one night without this plushie! I will love it that much! A lot of people do that with their Ratchet plushie, and now Clank will get his love!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	18. Chapter 18

Ratchet and Clank were sitting on the couch, watching the morning news. They would have been sleeping, but Clank woke up because his head was feeling funny. And when one gets up, the other has to get up. Ratchet was a bit concerned about Clank's head problem, but he felt fine after a can of oil. He said that he was just hungry.

It was past nine now, and Ratchet was waiting for Circuit to get up. She had been sleeping for a long time and he expected her to be up by now. However, her bedroom door was not budging. After a few more minutes, Ratchet grew a bit impatient.

"She's _still_ not up? She's developing my habit of sleeping in." Ratchet said, turning his head and looking at the entrance to the hallway.

"Circuit had a very long day yesterday, Ratchet. No doubt she was very tired. I did not even get to see her after you repaired me," Clank said, he sounded the tiniest bit sad while saying the last sentence.

"Well, how about you see her now?" Ratchet said as he stood up.

"Ratchet, please, let her rest."

"It's 9:04 in the morning, Clank. She's been sleeping for nearly twelve hours now."

"Ratchet..."

"Alright, alright, fine. But I am going to go into her room to make sure she's alright. Can I at least do that?"

"I suppose that will be alright."

"I mean...if you want to go check on her, you can. She's your lady."

"She is not!"

Ratchet coughed into his fist, sneaking in the word "bullcrap" a few times. Clank gave him an angry look, but that only made him laugh. He could never really take Clank seriously when he was 'don't tease me' angry. Besides, he knew that Clank was lying. Talwyn had told him something before they had left. Clank and Circuit were about to do something before they were interrupted by her when he was being held hostage by Nefarious. He just wished that he was the one who had interrupted. It would have been funnier.

Ratchet walked out of the living and turned down the hallway, stopping at one of the first doors on his right. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door as quietly as possible, only opening wide enough so he could poke his head in. Once he did that, he scanned the bedroom. He smiled a little when he saw Circuit laying down in her bed, her back turned to him. She appeared to be asleep.

Key word: appeared.

Though it looked like she was sleeping, her red bulb was glowing. When a robot is asleep or deactivated, all lights on its body will shut off to preserve energy. And since Circuit's red light wasn't shut off, it could only mean one thing: she was awake.

Ratchet had a hunch that she wasn't sleeping. When he had opened door, he saw the tiniest jump come from Circuit's torso, meaning that he had startled her by coming into the room. He thought about telling her that he knew that she was awake, but he thought of something better. With a decent amount of stealth, Ratchet crept across the room and stopped at the bedside. He crouched down, reached out his hand and-

Flick!

"AH!"

Circuit sprang upwards and grasped her antennae. Ratchet couldn't help but grin as she concealed the giggles attempting to escape from her mouth. "A robot's antennae is sensitive, especially within the hour they wake up. Thought that I might test that out again, just to make sure that yours was working properly."

"How did you know that I was awake?" Circuit asked, sighing in relief as the weird feeling left her antennae.

"Your little red bulb was glowing," Ratchet said, trying to poke it, but Circuit grabbed his hand before he could. He freed his hand and sat down on the bed. "So, any nightmares?"

She shook her head, then she grabbed the little Lombax plushie (which had fallen near the edge of the bed after Circuit sat up). She stroked one of its ear, smoothing down some of its fake fur.

"This plushie you gave me sure did something. I did not have another nightmare after I fell asleep with it last night."

"Well that's good. Still not like the real thing though, huh?"

"No. You can never truly replicate something. But that does not mean that the replica will not be as good."

Ratchet smiled again, then he took his left hand and removed his right hand's glove. Then he nuzzled Circuit's antennae with his fur covered hand.

"True. But you can never make a replica that feels this soft."

"That is a fact," Circuit said, placing both of her hands on Ratchet's furry one. She was starting to get that weird ticklish feeling in her antennae again, and the fur wasn't helping. "No fur can beat yours."

"Heh-heh. So are you getting out of bed or do you want to sleep some more?"

Circuit opened her mouth to say something, but a noise came out of her that wasn't her voice. It was more of a rumbling sound, and it was coming out of her torso. Circuit's face wanted to turn red as Ratchet tried his best not to laugh.

"Nevermind, I think that I know the answer."

He reached over and grabbed Circuit's jacket off the back of the desk chair, then dropped it onto her head. She struggled under it for a second, but she managed to find her way around it, and slipped it on her shoulders. When she had pulled the left sleeve up her arm, she could feel the gauze covering her wound move around a little. She poked at the bandages, then tried to remove a layer. Ratchet grabbed her arm.

"Hey, don't pick at them. You might pull a strand and you'll make all of the bandages fall off."

"Ratchet, I do not think that these are necessary. It was just a cut."

"I don't care. You were injured, and I just want to make sure that you are as good as new when you're done recovering. We can take them off tomorrow."

"Oh, okay."

"Besides, gauze makes wounds look cool. You look like some warrior who was just injured in an epic fight."

"Well, technically I was in a fight...and I did get injured."

"Exactly! See? You are a warrior!"

"You still very much confuse me."

"Oh yeah? Well you know what?"

Ratchet grabbed Circuit, pulled her towards him and covered her eyes with her jacket hood while nuzzling her antennae with his furry hand playfully. "_You_ very much confuse _me_!"

Circuit was busy giggling in amusement. She tried to pull the hood off her her face.

"Ratchet, quit it! I cannot see!"

"Alright. Come on, let's go satisfy that monster growling in your stomach."

"Hah-hah. Okay."

Circuit put her hood all the way down, jumped off the bed, and followed Ratchet out of the room.

* * *

"I can't believe that we wasted all that time!"

Nefarious yelled out complaints as he paced back and forth across the room. Klunk had his back against the wall, arms crossed. His blood red eyes were shaped in an angry sort of manner, he usually had his eyes look like this often. However, he couldn't stop himself from rolling them whenever his creator had an angry outburst.

"I don't see what the big problem is. The project is still underway. You just had to let those workers of yours go unsupervised for awhile, they haven't really made any mistakes. I think that you're overreacting."

"Quiet you. Even though everything is going fine, that doesn't mean that it's going to be finished within the proper time."

"...What?"

"This project is very big, and it will take quite a long time to finish. We have no way to speed it up!"

"Gee, ever hear of a little something called patience?"

Nefarious walked over to Klunk, grabbed his antennae, and lifted him up to his face.

"You watch your mouth. You've died once, and I'm not afraid to have you die twice."

"Of course you're not, you brought me back for a reason that turned out to be completely useless to you...but it doesn't have to be."

"What? What do you mean? The girl doesn't remember anything. And she's a total weakling by the looks of it. What could we possibly want with her?"

"Well if you would just _put me down_, I could show you."

Nefarious released Klunk, and the little robot fell to the floor, landing on his side. He glared angrily at his creator, then stood up, brushing himself off. Then he located a nearby computer screen, walked over to it, and put his finger right next to one of its ports.

"When I first met her, I thought that she was a weakling too. But...she did something that I was very much not expecting. Something that I cannot explain. But, I think that you should take a look at this."

Klunk put his finger into the computer port, and the screen lit up with a blood red coloration. Then, a white box appeared, and the simple for 'rewind' was on it. Then it stopped. The video played, and it was in Klunk's point of view. Clank was on the ground, struggling in his grip. The machete blade was also in his sight, but only near the left side. He was about to decapitate Clank, when the bright light filled the room.

_"What the...?"_

The camera turned around, only to see more light. Then, a fireball came out and hit the camera straight in the face, covering it in darkness. Klunk stopped the video, then looked at Nefarious.

"...What? What was I supposed to get from that?"

Klunk used his free hand to facepalm, then he let out a great sigh.

"Perhaps I should enhance some things."

Once again, he rewound the video, but not to the very beginning. He paused at the moment when he had looked at the bright light. After a few enhancing and dimming tricks, an outline could be seen within the light. It was her

"Is that...what is she...?" Nefarious trailed off, squinting his eyes.

"That's not all of it."

He played the newly enhanced video. Inside the light, she held the Omniwrench. The Omniwrench was actually the source of the light. She had her eyes closed, and she seemed to be murmuring something. Then, the wrench went from its deep blue color to blazing red. A fire arose from the weapon and it danced at the top of it. She grabbed the wrench and hurled flames at the metal barrier, letting Ratchet in.

Klunk paused the video there. He removed his finger from the computer screen, then placed his hands behind his back.

"I don't know how, but that little 'weakling' made that Omniwrench upgrade itself."

"How is that even possible?! All she did was touch it!"

"I already said, I don't know. And this isn't the first time this has happened. Some of our scientists reviewed the memory footage of one of the commandos stationed on Lumos. She had yelled at the commandos to leave her rat and tin can friends alone, and the wrench upgraded like it did in my memory video. These are not coincidences."

"Hmmm...this is all very interesting, but what does this have to do with the project?"

"Well, this little power she has can upgrade weapons apparently. And what is the project?"

"A giant weapon...yes...I see what you're pulling at now. And to think that I almost killed her...wait, she did make it out alive, right?"

"No. There were no casualties in the explosion."

"So she is still alive."

"Yes. But how are you planning on getting to her? No doubt she's under the protection of that space rat and that bucket of bolts."

"Ah, I've already thought of that..."

Nefarious stared at Klunk with an evil grin. Klunk's eyes widened and he reached up and lightly touched his head.

"The...The Connection? You can't be serious! Do you know how difficult it is to use it?"

"Are you saying that you're not up for it? When, then I guess that you're no longer of use to me. I wonder what kind of place the garbage man will haul your dead body to?"

Klunk clenched his fists. If he had teeth, he would be grinding them right now. He stared at Nefarious dead in the eyes.

"...I'll do it."

"That's what I thought. You will try it tonight. And don't be afraid to cause some damage."

* * *

The day went by fairly slowly.

Since they really had nothing better to, Ratchet, Clank and Circuit remained inside. Switching between television and video games. Of course, Circuit has never played a video game before, so Clank let her play with his controller for awhile. But after a few rounds of the game, Ratchet had the robots switch back. Not because he wanted Clank to have, he was just tired of Circuit killing his character and winning all the time.

After a while, all three got bored of playing games and watching TV. So they retired to the garage, where Ratchet and Clank went over different blueprints that they had made awhile ago. Circuit wasn't too interesting of course, so she just doodled in her sketchbook.

**Several hours later**

"I don't know Clank, some of these things could come in handy. Just give them a chance."

"Ratchet, I do not think that a walking toaster is going to be helpful to anybody."

"Well, what do you think you are?"

"Ratchet!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

Circuit giggled at the two. She admired their friendship, they were like brothers. She returned her attention to her drawing. It was a side-by-side comparison of Ratchet's Omniwrench. One was in regular form, the other was with the Fire-Bomb Mod. She just wished that she had something to color them in with, the wrench's colors is what really stood out in their differences. Turns out she sort of got her wish. A yellow-orange light shined onto her drawing of the Fire-Bomb Omniwrench. She looked over her shoulder, the light was coming from the door to the apartment. Putting her sketchbook down, she jumped off the table that she was sitting on, and walked towards the door.

Clank noticed Circuit leaving. He looked at Ratchet, who was absorbed in the blueprints.

"Ratchet, I uh...I think that I'm going to leave for a few minutes."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"To...to get a can of oil. And I do not want to bring it in here due to the risk that I might spill it on the blueprints."

"Alright, just don't be too long. And don't stay on that leg for too long."

Clank nodded, then slid off the stool, trying not to land too hard on either leg. Then he quickly left the room in pursuit or Circuit.

He opened the door and entered the apartment. Upon entering, he looked around for his female counterpart. He heard the 'clanking' of little metal feet. Then he saw her. Circuit was gazing out the window, looking a bit excited for some odd reason. Then she dashed towards the apartment door.

"Circuit?"

She stopped part way through the door and looked at Clank. She simply smiled at him.

"I cannot miss this one."

Then she was gone out the door. Clank too walked over to the door and went out into the hallway. He heard a door close, and it sounded like it had come from an upper level. It was then he knew exactly where she was. He went over to the staircase leading to the roof and climbed up them, trying his best to shorten the time he stood on his injured leg. Luckily, the staircase wasn't too long, and he made it to the top.

When Clank opened the door, his eyes were met with an yellow-orange glow. After his vision adjusted to the brightness, he located Circuit sitting down about ten feet from the edge of the roof. Her jacket cape was flowing with the wind. He walked over to her, wanting to sit down because his leg was starting to hurt.

"Circuit, what are you doing up here? And what is it that you cannot miss?"

"What am I doing up here? Look at the sky, Clank."

Clank was confused, but only until he did look at the sky. It was truly breathtaking. The sun was setting, and the stars were starting to pull in from the opposite side. The setting sun covered the city in a beautiful golden light, while the incoming night sky glowed a majestic blue aura.

"It is like it is day and night at the same time," Circuit said, leaning back a bit, putting her weight on the palm of her hands. She looked at Clank, who was staring at the sky like her. "You should sit down. You cannot stand on the leg for too long."

Clank nodded, then took a seat next to Circuit. They sat there in silence for a few moments.

"I said that I could not miss this one because I had missed the sunset from yesterday. I was so tired, I had barely noticed it."

"At least you get to see this one."

"True. It really is amazing though. Living high up in the clouds has its perks."

"...Circuit?"

"Yes?"

"We...we can be honest with each other, right?"

"Um...yes. I guess so."

"Cause, I um...I have been meaning to tell you something for a long time now."

Circuit's heart jumped while Clank's face became warm. He didn't know why he was suddenly doing this. It was something about the beautiful sunset, calming atmosphere, and the amount of privacy that made it happen. Anyway, Circuit's gaze was on him, she had her full attention. There was no point in turning back now.

"What do you want to tell me?"

"Um..."

Clank was so nervous, his metallic jaw was trying to tighten up on him. He was trying to control and calm himself. He believed in himself, he could do this. And he was not willing to disappoint those gorgeous violet eyes that he loved so much. He let out a calming sigh.

"Wh-when...when we were in Nefarious's base, and Klunk attacked us, I did not know what to do. I honestly thought that one of us was going to be killed. And, if it was not for your quick thinking, that killed off person would have been me. And, if I had died, I would have died knowing that I was too nervous to tell you something that I have wanted to tell since that first time I met you."

"Clank...what are you trying to say?"

"Circuit, I-I...I...l-love you."

Circuit didn't say a single thing, though she did look shocked. Her gaze went from Clank, back to the sky. Clank looked a bit disappointed at her reaction. He looked back at the sky, sighing a little.

"I do not expect you to feel the same way about me. You have millions of robots out there to choose from, and if I am not one of your desired choices, then I understand and respect your-"

Circuit lightly grabbed Clank's shoulder. He turned to look at her, she was smiling a little.

"What would a hero like you want with a weakling like me?"

"Even if you were a weakling, that would not make you any less beautiful."

Circuit blushed, but she allowed it this time. She has never felt more loved in her life.

And it was this love that made the distance between their heads grow shorter. Until, eventually, they met with what felt like a long overdue kiss.

Circuit's arm gauze unraveled itself and flew away with the wind.

* * *

**...So yeah, that just happened.**

**Oh, and I should have mentioned this at one point: Circuit has a hole in her hoodie for her antennae to fit through. So, if there was any confusion over that, there's your explanation.**

**I know that this chapter seemed to have taken longer than the other ones, but I needed to think of the perfect build up to that ending. I think that it went well.**

**Also, another reason that I haven't updated is because of all of the Ratchet and Clank PS4 hype. Insomniac released the trailer a few days ago, and it even contains a few seconds of the movie. I've watched it at least fifty times, and I don't even have a PS4 to be hyped with! But at least I know what to ask for Christmas now.**

**And, Sony's E3 Press Conference is tomorrow (for some people, depends on your time zone)! More Ratchet and Clank PS4 tomorrow! And I am praying for a new movie trailer because it's literally been a year since the last one! And, if we do get one, Clank better have some dialogue!**

**Speaking of Clank, my plushie came in the mail a few days ago! I have him right next to me right now. While I was writing this chapter, I would take breaks to watch CinemaSins videos and I would cuddle my little Clanky. Seriously, you cannot go a single day without cuddling it, it's just so damn cute!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	19. Chapter 19

Clank and Circuit had went inside when the sun had set, and it had become purely nighttime. Ratchet asked where they were the whole time, and Clank simply told him that Circuit had become rather bored, so he had decided to join her on the roof for a conversation or two, which he surprisingly bought. At least, they were pretty sure that he had bought it.

Circuit wanted to spend more time with Clank, but he sadly came down with a rather painful headache. So they said goodnight to each other and they retired to their rooms while Ratchet sat out in the living room.

Circuit was sitting on her bed, reading a random book she had pulled off of the bookcase in the living room to keep her occupied. The Lombax plushie was propped up next to her. She had actually given a name to the Lombax plushie: Little Ratchey, because it was like a little version of Ratchet. Though she hasn't told anyone yet, it would be a bit too embarrassing. Especially if Clank found out.

About an hour had passed by when Circuit's vision started becoming blurry and dimmed. She blinked a few times, but the effects didn't go away. Her mind was going fuzzy, and she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She thought that she must be very tired from all of the excitement that had happened on the room. So she put her book down, picked up Little Ratchey, and was about to get under the covers. But, sleep her too it. She was jerked into slumber, and her body fell onto the bed. Strange thing was: none of it was voluntary.

_Circuit's eyes opened. Though she wasn't expecting to wake up right on the edge of a cliff. Her heart jumped, and she scurried away from the edge as fast as she could. She placed a hand on her chest and started metaphorically gasping._

_"I cannot be asleep already. I was not that tired before that feeling overcame me. Something is not right here."_

_"You're right, something isn't right here."_

_Circuit jumped as she turned around and saw a large pair of blood red eyes staring at her. Klunk's body came into view, his hands behind his back. He was strutting over to her, like he didn't want to be there._

_"Klunk? What are you doing here? Why are you in my dream?" Circuit asked, sounding more demanding than she had intended._

_Klunk laughed "Dream? You think that this is a dream? No, no, no, my dear sister, no. This isn't really a dream. It's more of...a state of mind. That's the best that I can put it."_

_"What are you talking about? I am asleep. This is a dream."_

_"Yes, you are asleep, but no, you are not dreaming. This is actually me talking to you."_

_"That is not possible. How could I be talking to you right now?"_

_"Excellent but obvious question. You see, we are siblings, brother and sister. And, with each sibling robots, comes a special system to link them. They call it The Connection."_

_"The Connection? I do not understand."_

_"Ugh, I don't blame you. Hanging out with that Lombax, your IQ is probably dropping by the minute. Anyway, The Connection works only between true sibling robots. Robots that are created via a factory line are not considered true siblings. The Connection comes when two robots are made by the same creator by hand. The siblings share the same CPU, making them linked together, and this creating a communication system of their very own. No one can hack it or tap into it. All of this that you're seeing right now is all ours. No one else can enter this realm."_

_"Why are you choosing right now to tell me this? You had plenty of opportunities earlier."_

_"Because this Connection is very hard to use. Even right now I'm struggling to keep a signal with you," Klunk said as his body fluctuated in a weird static manner._

_"Why are you here? What do you want with me?"_

_"Simple, dear sister. We want you to back to us. Both Nefarious and I."_

_"I find that very hard to believe. The very second you found out that I was of no use to you, you tried to kill me in an explosion!"_

_"Oh, that wasn't real. It was more of just a show. We knew that you would make it, we can't kill that Lombax no matter what we do! But, after the whole ordeal, Nefarious and I realized what a mistake we made. I nearly killed my sister, my only sibling. Even I wouldn't have been able to live with that. And Nefarious really regretted leaving you. He cared about you when you were with him many years ago. And now, he has the chance to care about you again. Please, come back to us, we want you to be evil with us again-"_

_"NO!" Circuit shouted, making Klunk jump. "I am NOT evil! I will never join you! I am happy with Ratchet and Clank-"_

_"Honestly, do you really think that they care about you? The only reason that they're keeping you is because you look just like that bucket of bolts! If you were any other kind of robot, they would have taken you to an orphanage or something like that! You don't belong with them!"_

_"That is not true! They care about me. More than two evil robots ever will!"_

_"Erg, that's it! We tried doing this the nice way, but now we're going to do this the hard way!"_

_Klunk pulled out from behind him what looked like Circuit's machete. But it looked all dark and shadowy. He tapped his foot on the ground._

_"You see this ground? This ground is YOU. We are in your mind, your CPU right now. That's how I'm talking to you, I used The Connection to enter your mind. And, if you don't feel like agreeing with me, I guess I'll have to take some chunks out of your mind in order to change it."_

_"NO DON'T!" Circuit yelled as Klunk inched the blade closer and closer to the ground. She ran up and tackled him, the machete flying out of his hand. Klunk struggled to get back up as Circuit pinned him down. She seemed to be much stronger in her own mind. She located the shadow machete next her her feet. Before Klunk could stop her, she quickly grabbed the handle, and in one quick swipe, cut Klunk's arm off. The severed arm disappeared in a flurry of red particles. Soon, Klunk himself was glowing red and starting to disintegrate into particles._

_"We...will...find you..." He mumbled as he finally disappeared. Circuit let out a huge theoretical breath as the shadow machete disappeared as we_ll. _She had temporarily broken the connection. Now all she has to do is wake up._

Circuit woke up with a ginormous leap of her mechanical heart. Her head was pounding, but it didn't exactly hurt. It felt...weird. That was the only word she could really use to describe it. Her throat was extremely dry, and when she noticed how dry it was, she started feeling lightheaded. Oil, that is what she needs. It always helped after a bad dream. Oil helps her think more clearly. And she has a lot to think about at the moment. But, if she even thought about processing everything that had just happened, her head felt like it was going to explode. So, she grabbed Little Ratchey (she felt better when she had him), and exited the room.

Circuit, who was lazily dragging Little Ratchey on the floor like some sort of young child, exited the hallway. She was about to turn into the kitchen, but then she realized the large pair of ears sticking out of the couch. And she also noticed the video game that was displayed on the screen. The time read 12:42, who would be up this late? The little robot walked around the side of the couch to see the still awake Ratchet with a game controller in his hands. He jumped a little when he spotted her, then he paused the game and placed a hand on his chest.

"Oh, Circuit, it's you. Wasn't expecting to see you there all of the sudden. Speaking of which, why am I seeing you there all of the sudden? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I had a...well, a nightmare...of sorts," she replied, placing a hand on the back of her head.

"A nightmare? What? Did the Lombax plushie lose its magic or something?"

"I do not think that it has anything to do with Little Ratchey, I think that-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Little what now?" Ratchet said, putting his controller down and turning his body more towards Circuit.

"Oh, um...heh-heh...I uh, I felt bad because the Lombax plushie did not have a proper name. So I...I gave it one," she said, lifting the plushie up and stroking its ear.

"And you picked Little Ratchey?"

"I know, it is a bit ridiculous."

"What? No, no, no, not ridiculous! It's adorable if anything. Now come over here."

Circuit walked over to where Ratchet was sitting, then hopped up on the couch next to him, throwing Little Ratchey on first then herself. She placed her back on the back on the couch and cuddled the Lombax plushie.

"So, you said that you had another nightmare," Ratchet began, but Circuit quickly interrupted.

"Well, of sorts."

"What do you mean 'of sorts'? A nightmare is a nightmare."

"Well, yes, I was sleeping and yes, I was dreaming. But something was...not quite right."

"What do you mean?"

"It did not really feel like a dream. It felt like it was actually happening. And for all I know, it was actually happening, according to Klunk-"

"KLUNK?! You talked to him? Was he in your room?" Ratchet felt very panicked right now. What was Klunk doing talking to Circuit after everything that happened at Pegasus Outpost?

"Yes, I did talk to him, but not in a physical state. I talked to him more in a...a mental state."

"So what you're saying is that you talked to Klunk in your dream?"

"That is the thing though, he said that I was not dreaming. He said that he was talking to me in my mind."

"Okay, I-I'm confused now. How could Klunk be in your head? I really don't see how that's possible."

"I did not understand either. But he...he called it The Connection."

"The Connection? What's The Connection?"

"Well, according to Klunk, it is some sort of system that works between sibling robots."

"And he's your brother and your only sibling."

"Yes. We can communicate through this system apparently. But...he seemed to be struggling when he was using it. His appearance kept fading in and out, and his voice would be all staticy at some points. It must not be very easy to use."

"Is that all he told you? He only told you about this Connection thing?"

"No...and this is the part when I decided to label all of this as a nightmare," she hugged Little Ratchey a bit tighter. "He told me that I do not belong here, that I belong with him and Nefarious."

"That is some pure bull right there. Last time I checked, they didn't care if you were dead or alive. They were willing to let you die in an explosion!"

"I know, and I pointed that out to him. But he said all of that was just for show, and that they never wanted me to die in that explosion. And then he said that Nefarious wants me back, he wants me to be...h-he wants m-m-e to be..."

'No, no crying. Crying is a sign of weakness. Besides, I have cried enough already, no more.'

"Nefarious said that he wants me to be evil again."

"WHAT?!" Ratchet yelled, standing up. "First, he tries to blow you up, then he tells you that he wants you to be evil again?! I'm going to kick that robot's ass!"

Circuit looked astonished that he had cursed, even a bit upset. Ratchet mumbled "Sorry."

"I do not understand any of this either, Ratchet. He said that I was useless, but now suddenly I am useful. What could all of this mean? Why did Nefarious change his mind?"

"I don't know. He must be planning something that needs you to complete. I know Nefarious, he doesn't want you back just for the heck of it. No...no there is some evil plan mixed in with all of this. And everyone knows that he'll do anything to achieve his goals," Ratchet said, glancing out the large living room window. All of this Nefarious talk was making the fur on the back of his neck stand up. Suddenly, he found himself turning around and grabbing Circuit's shoulders.

"Circuit, listen to me. No matter what, you do not leave this apartment without both me and Clank. If Nefarious is after you again, then you'll need both of us to protect you. And, this Connection of yours, ignore it. Ignore it completely. And if Klunk manages to get into your head again, ignore him too. Kick him out of your CPU if you have to, and I mean actually kick him out. That is _your_ CPU, don't let him in, he is not wanted in there, so _don't let him in_. If you have any of these strange dreams again, you will report it to me immediately. I'm telling you all of this to keep you safe, Circuit. And if you hate me for putting all of this stress and rules on you, then fine, hate me all you want. But I'd rather have you hate me than have you in the hands of a villain. That's what I...hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Ratchet didn't know when, but Circuit had started crying when he was talking. He didn't know why either. Maybe he had gripped her shoulders a too roughly? Was his voice too stern and it frightened her? He was startled a bit when she started talking in a raised voice.

"Hate you?! Why would I hate you?! I would never hate you! Even if I tried, you have done too much to protect me and keep me happy for me to have any level of hatred for you! I have only known you for a week, but you treat me like you have known me for years! So if you think that I am ever going to start hating you, you are thinking wrong."

"Circuit..."

"I was so scared and confused when I landed on this planet nine days ago. You offered to help me without even asking if I was good or bad. Even though I refused your offer and ran away from you, you caught up to me and helped me anyway. You brought me here, fixed every broken part that I had, gave me a name when I did not have one, fed me whenever I was hungry, cheered me up whenever I was sad about something, you even took me to other planets so I could see what they were like. And now, here you are, protecting me from an insane evil robot! If I even thought about hating you for one second, I would be ashamed of myself! I could never hate you, daddy!"

Ratchet froze at that last word. His ears drooped and his hands fell of Circuit's (who was now crying into her hands) shoulders.

'D-D...Daddy? Did she just...call me...?'

A very strange and heavy feeling was in Ratchet's chest now. He took his hand and placed it on the heavy area, but it was just his heart. It was beating a bit fast. Circuit calling him 'daddy' echoed through his ears. The next thing he knew, tears were forming in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, no crying in front of Circuit. He had to be strong for her.

Ratchet scooped Circuit up in his arms and sat down on the couch. She buried her face into his shirt. Her crying had gone down to nearly inaudible sobbing. Ratchet couldn't see her eyes now. If it wasn't for the occasional tiny female voice in each sob, it would have felt like he was holding Clank. Even if it was Clank, the situation would not be any different. If either of the two were upset about something, he would comfort them immediately.

"Ratchet, I am scared. I do not want to be hunted down by Nefarious. I do not want an evil brother who can enter my mind. And I do not want you or Clank getting hurt while trying to protect me."

"I know...I know. The universe has a strange sense of humor, and some of that humor can be a bit more on the cruel side. Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. But sometimes it can be the other way around, and we can't help that. We just have to work through it until we get the joke."

"The universe makes jokes?"

"Yep. And believe me, it has told many, many jokes to Clank and I. The punchline always being: another day, another galaxy saved."

"The universe does not sound like a very good comedian."

"Yeah, it really isn't. But we put up with it anyway."

After a few moments of silence, Circuit looked up at Ratchet.

"I do not want to go back to bed."

"Mm, me neither...how about I let Clank have the bed tonight and you and I play video games with me until we're both too tired to continue. We have a whole couch to pass out on, so we don't have to move or anything."

"I like that idea. You sure that you will not mind?"

"Nope, don't mind at all. Clank and I stay up playing video games all the time. Our record pass out time was 5:33 in the morning...it was a historical moment for us."

Circuit reached for the second controller on the table in front of them. Ratchet was playing some sort of driving game by the looks of it. She spawned her character in, she was in the middle of a city.

"Where am I?"

"Hold on," Ratchet said. It was a split screen, so Circuit could watch him. His character walked up to a car with a person inside of it. He pulled the driver out of the driver's seat and out of the car, then he entered the vehicle and drove off.

"Get out of the car you stupid NPC, I need this vehicle to find my friend. And that is a legit excuse for stealing, so don't call the cops on me."

Circuit covered her mouth to keep her laughter quiet. She really liked playing this game with Ratchet, he would make it so funny. They played for hours and hours, both laughing together whenever Ratchet stole something with a witty remark or a humorous excuse. They lost track of time fairly quickly. So, when they both finally became too tired to continue, they didn't know what time it was when they finally passed out.

The time, though they didn't know it, was 5:34 AM.

* * *

**Well...this chapter took longer than expected. Sorry 'bout that.**

**So...Little Ratchey...yeah, I thought that Circuit giving the plushie a name would be adorable.**

**Anyway, sorry that this chapter took so long, all the E3 hype kinda got in the way of my writing time. No Ratchet and Clank news besides a six minute video of PS4 Gaspar gameplay (you can find the video on YouTube). The jetpack returns, and it actually looks really cool.**

**Make sure to leave a review while you pick up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	20. Chapter 20

_Click._

"Huh?" Circuit said quietly as the sound of a door closing woke her up. The sunshine greeted her eyes, and she quickly rubbed them. She sat up, remembering that she and Ratchet had passed out on the couch while playing video games. Her guess was that they had been playing until very early in the morning, because it was nearly noon. She looked around for her Lombax friend, but she was alone on the couch. Then again, she did hear a door close, perhaps he had gotten up earlier than her.

Sure enough, Ratchet came out of the hallway and entered the living room, Circuit's black jacket in one hand, and an empty can of oil in the other. He looked a bit worried. But he erased the concern off of his face and smiled when he saw Circuit watching him from the couch.

"Taking your sweet time to wake up again. Just like when we found you."

"Why did you look so upset when you came out of the hallway?" Circuit asked, standing up and looking over the back of the couch.

"Well...Clank's feeling a bit under the weather. So of course I'm looking a bit worried."

"You mean he is not well? What is wrong with him?"

"It's nothing, just a bit head sick. He said that he just needs some rest and he'll feel better after awhile. I offered to stay with him and help him in any way that I can. But..."

"But what?"

"Well, Clank had this _crazy_ idea. He thinks, and get this, he thinks that it would be a great idea if _I_ take _you_ for a walk around Metropolis. Crazy, right?"

"Um...I fail to see the craziness of that idea. It actually sounds fairly nice," Circuit said, folding her arms on the back of the couch and laying her chin on them.

Ratchet rolled his eyes "Circuit, do you know what sarcasm is?"

"Uhhhm..."

_Sarcasm- the use of irony to mock or convey contempt_

"So you were joking about it being a bad idea and you actually think that it was a good idea? Is that how your humor worked?"

"UGH, you sound like too much like Clank right now. Yes, that is how my humor worked. I was kidding about it being a bad idea. We should go for a walk."

"Wait, I thought you said that I cannot leave the apartment unless both you and Clank are with me."

"Well, Clank's sick, I didn't have any control over that. Besides, we're just going for a stroll around the city in broad daylight. I don't think that you're going to be in that much danger."

"But won't Clank get lonely being by himself here? It feels a bit wrong just leaving him while he is ill."

"Don't worry, he's been sick before. A can of oil and a few hours of rest will fix him right up. Besides, with a headache, I bet that he wants to be alone right now."

"But what if something happens to him while we are out?"

"Thought of that already. I told Clank to text me if his condition gets worse. I also told him to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten if it does get worse. He's going to be alright Circuit, there's no need to worry so much."

"Okay..."

Ratchet handed Circuit her jacket and she quickly put it on, zipping up the zipper in the process. Ratchet raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you zipping up your jacket all of the sudden?"

"Oh, um, well..." Truth was, she was feeling a bit self-conscious about her body ever since Klunk had rudely pointed out that she was 'flat'. Just thinking about it made her face turn red. "It looks a bit cold out. Also, jackets look a bit neater when they are zipped up in my opinion."

Ratchet shrugged "Whatever you say."

He then bent down and picked up Circuit. But she squirmed in his arms for a moment, reaching a hand out towards the hallway where the bedrooms were.

"Wait, I want to see Clank before we leave."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that it's the best idea if you go in there. I don't want you catching whatever he has. The last thing I need is two sick robots. Besides, I'm pretty sure that he fell back asleep, or at least he's about to."

"Oh...okay," Circuit said, pulling her hand back. Ratchet walked out of the apartment with her in his arms, secretly wanting to stay himself.

* * *

"You're weak!" Nefarious yelled as Klunk opened his eyes. His back was pressed up against a cold metal table. It took him a minute to remember what all had happened. When he processed what Nefarious had just said, the little robot's eyes narrowed in an angry position.

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw everything. You went down at the hands of an untrained little girl! And then you go unconscious for several hours! Pathetic!"

"I'd like to see you try and use this damn Connection! It's not as easy as it looks!"

"That's no excuse. You just had to ask her to join us nicely. You didn't just jump in and tear her mind apart like you were supposed to!"

"Hey, I wasn't supposed to do anything! My only directive was to turn her over to our side again. She doesn't take violence in a good way, so I had to be somewhat gentle with her. I wasn't just going to go in there and destroy her mind!"

"You've grown soft for her. What? Do you actually care about the wellbeing of your 'dear sister'?"

"Of course not! I'd rather be related to that oaf Qwark...okay, maybe not that extreme, but no, I don't care for her. She could be dead and I wouldn't shed a single tear. However, she is the key to jump-starting the plan, so I have to care for her a little. And I'm not saying that I'm liking this little acting job either. I really hate pretending to be nice."

"Then get mean."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, get mean. Make her be evil. You're obviously stronger than her, so use that strength. And don't tell me that it's going to be difficult you little whiner!"

Klunk rolled his eyes and bunched his hands up into a fist. He shifted his weight onto those fists and laid back a bit.

"I'm not going to complain. But I am going to rest for awhile."

"Fine, fine, but don't take too long."

"I meant rest for a day or two."

"WHAT?!"

"Using The Connection can really take it out of a robot's processor. I won't be able to maintain a stable connection if I don't let my CPU take a break for awhile."

"Grrr..." Nefarious growled angrily. He did not like the idea of waiting so long for his plan to be set in motion. He was not a very patient robot. However, if he didn't let Klunk rest, he would probably have to wait even longer. So he angrily threw his hands up in the air. "FINE! But don't get too comfortable, because the second your CPU is ready again, I'm sending you back in there."

Klunk folded his arms and gave a smug smile "In that case, I'll need an extra soft bed and a glass of the finest oil that we have. And a ninety inch television with a complete set of Lance and Janice holo-vids. Oh, and a bowl of grease pudding. Yes, I think that should do the trick for a speedy resting."

Nefarious gritted his metallic teeth. Ever since he had repaired Klunk, he had been doing that a lot lately. Working with this little robot was such a pain in his arsenal. Sometimes he wished that he had never created the little pest.

Then again, at least Klunk was evil with him, unlike another certain creation of his. But soon enough, that other creation will be evil with him as well. He could just imagine the happy look on her face as she watches the universe plunge into chaos.

Who knows? Maybe she was up to evil activities at that very moment.

* * *

Circuit sat on the edge of the fountain that sat in the middle of Metropolis park. She usually didn't feel too comfortable sitting in public, surrounded by people that she didn't know. But, luckily, there was hardly anybody around. Ratchet had told her that not many people come to the park because a lot of Metropolis's citizens work during the day. And children liked to stay inside and play video games while their parents were gone. So Circuit really had nothing to be nervous about.

Circuit located a sign on the side of the fountain. It was a gold plate with letters engraved into it.

Donation Fountain. All bolts thrown into the water will go towards planetless aliens.

"What are you looking at?" Ratchet asked, walking over to the fountain. He was carrying two cups with lids and straws.

"I am just reading the fountain's sign. It does not look like that many people have thrown their bolts into the water for donations."

"Well, some people are lame. Oilshake?" Ratchet handed Circuit one of the cups. She could feel the drink's coldness against the metal surface of her hand. This was her first time ever drinking an oilshake. She was about to take a drink of it, but she was distracted by Ratchet taking five bolts out of his pocket and chucking them into the fountain. Then he pulled out a sixth one and tossed it to her, which she caught with her free hand. Then she herself threw the bolt into the water.

"And just like that, we are now not lame," Ratchet said.

Circuit smiled and then took her a sip of her oilshake. A weird look came onto her face. The shake didn't taste like oil at all. She couldn't really taste anything actually. The only 'shake' part about it was the texture and temperature. She was about to tell Ratchet about it when he took a drink of his own shake.

"GAH!"

Ratchet quickly spat out a thick black liquid, which thankfully didn't get into the fountain water. He was wiping off his tongue with his hand, which was also disgusting.

"That is not chocolate! I have the wrong shake!"

"That explains why I cannot taste this one at all," Circuit said, looking at the cup she was holding.

"Here, I'll trade ya. I need to get this nasty taste out of my mouth."

Circuit nodded and handed Ratchet her cup and switched it with his. She took a sip once she got the correct drink, it was much better than Ratchet's. Speaking of Ratchet, he gave a large sigh of relief after a taking a big gulp of his chocolate milkshake. Then he glanced at Circuit.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Clank about any of this."

"Hmm, I do not think that I would be able to anyway."

"Why?"

"Because I would not be able to stop laughing when I recall the event."

"Wha-laughing?! That's it, you come here!"

Ratchet placed his milkshake on the side of the fountain and reached his hand towards Circuit. She quickly put her own shake down and tried to run away, but the Lombax grabbed hold of her jacket's hood and lifted her up. He swung her around a little so he was holding her over the fountain's pool of water.

"AH! Put me down! I do not want to get wet!"

"What? Maybe I want to donate you. You could make a planetless person very happy."

"NO! Do not donate me! I do not want to be donated! I like it here with you! And I still do not wish to get wet!" Circuit was squirming now, she really didn't want to get wet. Plus, she doesn't think that the bottom of the fountain is cushioned, so it wouldn't be very comfortable landing. Ratchet shrugged.

"Too bad."

"Wait, what-AHH!"

Ratchet let go of her hoodie and she fell out of the air. She saw the water getting closer to her, and she braced for impact. Her arms wrapped around her body and she closed her eyes, preparing to become submerged.

However, the only that got wet was the very tip of her antennae.

Ratchet had grabbed her ankle at the last second. Circuit saw that she was not becoming waterlogged in any way. She placed a hand on her chest and gave a sigh of relief. Ratchet pulled her away from the water, then set her back on the fountain's edge. He shifted his weight onto his one palm as he took a quick drink of his milkshake.

"You know that I would never drop you onto the ground...even if the ground is a fountain's bottom."

Circuit, who flicked a water drop of of her antennae, grabbed her oilshake and looked at the Lombax "I guess I knew that you would not let me fall in. But perhaps you should save jokes like those for Clank."

"Nah, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because, I would have let Clank fall into the water. We're best friends, so we both would have found it hilarious."

Circuit tilted her head a bit. She knew that Ratchet and Clank were best friends, but she never realized that they were so close that they could pull pranks on each other and not be mad. She would have been a bit upset if Ratchet had let her fall into the water. But if Clank had fallen into the water, he would probably just laugh with Ratchet. Then again, she doesn't know how long the two have been friends. Now that she thinks about it, she actually doesn't know how they became friends. Seemed like something that she should know. She looked up at Ratchet.

"Hey, Ratchet?"

"Yeah?"

"How uh...how did you and Clank meet each other?"

"Ahh, that story. I guess I can spare a few minutes and tell you. What all has Clank told you about him being built?"

"Nothing much, just that he was built in a robot factory on Planet Quarter-"

"Quartu."

"Yes, that is the one. And that is about all he told me...oh! He also told me about the Great Clock."

"Yeah, he was made in the Great Clock, but that place has nothing to do with how we met. You see, about ten years ago, I was all alone on a planet called Veldin."

"Was that your home planet?"

"Eh, in a way. I lived there for the majority of my childhood. And all I wanted to do was go out and explore the universe in my homemade spaceship. However, I was missing a crucial component of the ship."

"The Robotic Ignition System I am guessing."

"Yeah, how did you know that...and why am I getting a large sense of deja vu? Anyway, I didn't know what to do, I thought that I would never get off of that planet. Luckily, my sadness was distracted by a burning ship soaring over my house and crashing landing a few yards away."

"Oh my. Was the pilot alright?"

"Circuit, if the pilot wasn't alright, then I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Heck, I probably wouldn't even be here. Continuing, I grabbed my Omniwrench in case the driver was hostile. But I soon discovered that the pilot was just a little robot. I took him back to my place and started working on my ship. After awhile, I had nearly forgotten about the robot, until I heard a robot voice behind my say 'interesting'. It startled me so bad, I fell backwards onto the ground. I saw a big pair of green eyes looking at me."

"Clank."

"That's right. He showed me a video of a Blarg named Drek, saying that he was going to destroy a planet so he could use it for his own planet."

"That is awful!"

"I know right? He was a big jerk. Anyway, I agreed to take Clank, who wasn't even named Clank yet, to see Captain Qwark so he could request his assistance for defeating Drek. And little did I know, that little robot that crashed landed on my planet would lead me into a life of adventure and heroism...makes me feel bad about the way that I treated him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, back then, I wasn't exactly the most mature and reasonable person. Clank just wanted to help the people losing their homes, but I wanted different. I wanted to do a bit of adventuring. We kept getting off of our goal because I wanted to go do some activity. Clank tried to tell me that we should be going after Drek, but whenever he did, I would just yell at him. I said so many hurtful things to him on our first adventure, I'm still apologizing to him to this day."

"If you treated him so badly, why did he continue staying with you?"

"That bring us to the end of the adventure. We finally defeated Drek after I finally got my head on straight. But, after everything that I had said, Clank thought that I didn't want anything to do with him when it was all over. So, after saving my life again and receiving a broken arm, Clank walked away after I had set off for my house. Of course, I quickly called after him. I couldn't just leave him, and I wouldn't let him leave me. After, he had just saved my life. If it wasn't for him, I would have died from a long fall. Besides, he put up with my harsh comments and bad attitude for the whole adventure. I would have never forgiven myself if I had just let him go out into the universe by himself, and with a broken arm no less. After I had called after him and told him that we need to fix his arm, he looked so happy. Not gonna lie, I was pretty happy too. I've never had a friend like Clank. He never gave up on me, he stuck with me the whole way. So I invited him to stay with me, and he gladly accepted. And here we are ten years later, admired intergalactic heroes. It's a good life to live. Man, all of this Clank talk is actually making me wish that we hadn't left him at the apartment by himself."

"That explains why you two are so close. You have been through so much together. Even though you did not care for each other when you first met, you two stuck together. And by the looks of your bond now, you always will. I wish I had a friendship like that. I cannot tell you how much I envy the brother-like bond that you and Clank have."

"You don't think that you're friendship is like Clank and I's, huh? Let's see...you sneaked onto our ship so you could help us in battle, you infiltrated a villain's base in order to free me, you used your powers to prevent Clank from being killed...I dunno, that's one heck of a friend if you ask me."

Circuit was about to say something, but she received a message. Her antennae flashed a few times as the message came to her. Ratchet looked confused.

"What's going on with your antennae? Do I have to flick it again?"

"No, no! No need for that! I am just receiving a message," Circuit said, raising her hands in front of her antennae defensively.

"A message? From who? The only one who can really message you is Clank."

"That explains why the message is indeed from Clank. I wonder why he messaged me? Why would he contact me specifically?"

Ratchet shrugged. Circuit then pulled up the message once it was fully received. She looked a bit confused. Ratchet raised an eyebrow.

"What does it say?"

"Ummm...I am not too sure yet."

"Can you show me the message?"

Circuit nodded. Her antennae started glowing and a small projection came out of it. It was the message, but something was off about it.

VERY off.

_01010100 01101111 01101111 00100000 01101101 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01110000 01100001 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01100101 01111000 01110100 00101110 00100000 01001000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110100 01110011 00101110 00100000 01001001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110100 01100101 01101110 00101110 00100000 01001000 01100101 01101100 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110 00100000 01010000 01101100 01100101 01100001 01110011 01100101 00101110_

_00101101 01000011 01101100 01100001 01101110 01101011_

"Binary? I don't know how to read binary code. What does it say? Can you translate it?" Ratchet asked.

"Standby for a few seconds please," Circuit said, the projection of the code going back into her antennae. Several seconds went by, and a grim look came onto her face.

"What? What is it?" Ratchet was sounding a bit panicky.

Circuit displayed the translated binary out of her antennae again.

_Too much pain to text. Head hurts. It is a ten. Help me. Please._

_-Clank_

* * *

**It is a ten people! I repeat! It. Is. A. Ten!**

**And if you're wondering why Clank's message is in binary, I just wanted to use the Binary Translator for sh*ts and giggles. You have to admit, it worked out pretty nicely. **

**That is why there hasn't been too much Clank perspective in the last few chapters, because he's been growing ill.**

**Also, you guys wanna hear something? I was writing this chapter, and by the time I got to the part when Ratchet was about to drop Circuit, I literally got up, went to the kitchen, and made a batch of brownies. I legit just got up and made some brownies while writing this chapter.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary brownie! (I have to go get more toasters)**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	21. Chapter 21

Ratchet and Circuit rushed back the apartment (though it was mostly Ratchet running with Circuit in his arms) the second they had read the translated message. Circuit had only seen Ratchet run that fast one other time, and he was trying to escape an explosion the other time. Then again, if it was her running, she would be going as fast as she could as well.

Upon bursting into the apartment, Ratchet listened for any sounds of distress. Yet, he heard nothing, which made him worry even more. He ran with Circuit down the hallway and into his bedroom.

"Clank! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Clank was lying motionless on the bed. Some oil was leaking out of the corner of his mouth, staining the sheets that it landed on. Circuit squirmed out of Ratchet's stressful grip and hopped onto the bed, Ratchet quickly following. The Lombax put a hand on the tiny robot's shoulder and shook it.

"Clank? Clank?! Wake up! Clank!"

"Calm yourself, Ratchet. I am performing a scan to see if I can locate the problem,"Circuit said, trying to sound as calm as her voice would let her. Ratchet hesitated at first, but he nodded and removed his hand from the robot's shoulder. He watched worryingly as Circuit squinted her eyes, the violet light flashing on and off a few times. Then they remained lit as she opened her eyes fully.

"I have completed my scan."

"What did you find?"

Circuit walked over to Clank's side and sat down on her knees. She pointed at his head.

"I detected severe electronic irritation in his head. That is why Clank's head was hurting so bad. Electronic irritation inside the head can be extraordinarily painful when it reaches severe levels."

"What's causing it?"

"That is what I am worried about. This level of irritation can only be caused by some sort of strong virus. I do not know what kind of virus though, my knowledge on those are limited."

"So you're saying that Clank's been infected with a virus?" Ratchet asked, sounding as panicked as ever. He didn't like this, he didn't like this at all. Being sick is one thing, but his best friend being infected with a painful virus? This was beyond him, he would need someone in order to help Clank. Luckily, that someone was not too far from where they live.

Ratchet removed the covers of the bed and carefully picked Clank up. He looked at Circuit "Come on, I know someone who can help."

Circuit tilted her head, but nodded. They must be going to see someone that she doesn't know, meaning that she'll have to get acquainted with a total stranger. Normally, she would be freaking out, because she was about to meet someone new. But Clank's illness was distracting her from the nervousness. Besides, all the attention will be on Clank, not her. So maybe it won't be so bad.

So, with another nod of her head, she followed Ratchet out of the room, hoping that Clank's virus infected CPU wasn't too serious.

**Al's Robo Shack**

Ratchet picked up both Clank and Circuit after landing outside of a small building. Circuit moved her head so she could see the place better. She read the sign above the entrance.

"Al's Robo Shack?"

"Yeah, Clank and I have been coming here for years. If we need that parts, Al can provide them for us," Ratchet said, jumping out of Aphelion with both robots in his arms.

"But Clank does not need parts, he needs help getting rid of a virus."

"I know that. But Al has been studying Clank's unique anatomy for a long time. If Clank has even the smallest bug in his processor, Al will know how to get rid of it. He's the best we have."

Circuit said nothing after that. She wondered if Al will want to study her as well. It certainly doesn't sound pleasant, having some stranger observe her insides. Why Clank allowed that, she may never know.

Ratchet quickly entered the shack. Circuit looked around, there plenty of robot part all right. So many that it actually creeped her out a bit. Just seeing random robot arms, legs, processors lying around in boxes with prices on them, it was a bit disgusting. She guessed that it was a bit easier for males to look at, that's why Ratchet didn't look freaked out. It also explains why Clank was perfectly okay coming here all of the time. And to think, she still needs to meet the shack's owner.

When she saw him, she wanted to run away...fast.

Al was nothing like she had ever seen. She couldn't identify what species he was, but she was able to identify HALF of it. Al had a robotic eye and an arm attached to his organic skin. He was some sort of cyborg, and his appearance was a bit unsettling for Circuit. Plus, he was HUGE. Circuit had never seen such a large organic (with the exception of Qwark). Now she was _really_ hoping that he wouldn't want to take a look at her.

"Al, we need help," Ratchet said worryingly as he approached the counter where Al was sitting looking a bit bored.

"With what?" Al asked standing up. Circuit giggled a bit, he had a nerdy voice.

"Clank has some sort of virus in his CPU. I need you to get it out of him."

"A virus? Alright, sounds like a simple procedure. But eh...which Clank are we talking about?" Al asked, looking back and forth between the two robots in Ratchet's arms.

Ratchet rolled his eyes "Oh, I don't know, I think it's the one who's not conscious!"

"Okay, okay, no need to yell. But who is this other robot?" Al got closer to Circuit, making her feel uncomfortable.

"That's Circuit. I'll answer all of your questions later, but we need to focus on the sick robot at hand," Ratchet asked, getting a bit impatient.

"Alright, calm down. I'm sure that it's just a bad bug that isn't sitting well with his processor. Give him here."

Ratchet handed the limp Clank to Al, who made the robot look so tiny in his hands. The large cyborg turned around and walked into the back part of the shack, Ratchet deciding to follow him.

It wasn't much, just a room with a few tools lying around and some sort of weird metal contraption that stood nearly against the wall. There was also another room connected to it. It looked more like some sort of robot hospital room with a metal table/bed, a few medical cabinets, and a window so some sunlight could get in. This was where Al would take infected robots and perform surgery on their CPUs, then he would let them rest there until they reactivated.

Al took Clank and placed him on the metal contraption near the wall. He turned it on, and the machine hummed to life. He started fiddling with the settings of the machine, making sure that everything matched up to what Clank needed done.

"It's about to start, don't look right at it," Al said, pushing a large button.

_Standby for CPU and sister board scan_

A large greenish-blue light grid projected itself onto Clank. Then another large light traveled up and down the little robot's body, scanning whatever was in him.

Al turned to Ratchet and Circuit "This may take a few minutes."

Ratchet nodded, then set Circuit down on a nearby table where some tools were scattered about. She tried to watch the machine scan Clank, but Al's face blocked her. He observed her.

"So, are you a copy of Clank? Or some sort of sibling?"

"Uhh..."

"I think you're scaring her," Ratchet said, trying to pull Al back after seeing the disturbed look on Circuit's face.

"Ahh, so you are a female. It was a bit hard to tell, but the eyes are the things that gave it away. You usually don't see purple eyes on a male robot," Al said, backing up a bit, making Circuit give an internal sigh of relief. but her eyes went wide when Al said "Would you mind if I take a look at your CPU if we have time later? I would like to see how different yours is from Clank's."

"Um, actually, I would prefer if you did not look at my processor," Circuit said, putting her jacket hood up.

"Wha-?" Al said in confusion.

"Circuit isn't very comfortable around new people. I think that having someone she just met look at her CPU is pushing her comfort barriers," Ratchet said, imitating pushing against an invisible wall."

"Oh...well, if you ever change your mind, I can-"

_Scan complete_

The three looked at the scanning machine right as the grid light retracted. Al walked over to it and started checking the results.

"Hmm...oil pressure is normal...no cut wires or jammed gears...everything seems to be alright with him. The only thing I can see is in his CPU, and it is indeed a virus."

"What kind of virus is it?" Ratchet asked, trying to get a look at the results himself.

"I'm sure it's not too serious," Al said, locating the virus name. "Clank just has a case of..."

The cyborg's voice trailed off as he read the name. Ratchet shook his head and looked at him "What? Clank has a case of what?"

Al shook his head slowly "No...no, it can't be...of all viruses...of all robots..."

"What is wrong with Clank, Mr. Al?" Circuit asked, hopping down onto the floor.

He gave a big, sad sounding sigh. Then he turned to Ratchet and placed a big hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry, Ratchet."

"What are you sorry about? What's in Clank's CPU?" The Lombax asked, sounding upset. He knew that something was very wrong. And he wanted to find out what.

"Clank's...Clank's CPU...his CPU has been infected with...with the Hexzar Virus."

"Hexzar Virus? Wh-what's the Hexzar Virus?" Ratchet asked.

"The Hexzar Virus, or HXZR-V00, is a very dangerous virus. It enters through the antennae and travels into the processor, causing major tiredness and excruciating headaches."

"Clank said that he was having a very painful headache before he passed out," Circuit said.

"I'm not surprised, it hurts when you're CPU is being eaten away like that-"

"EATEN AWAY?!" Ratchet and Circuit yelled together.

"Yes, the Hexzar Virus eats away at the CPU. Slowly shutting the robot down until its system shuts the robot down for good."

"But how the hell did Clank get it? There's no way that he could have come in contact with this virus!" Ratchet said.

"Well, has Clank hacked anything recently?"

"No! He hasn't hacked anything!"

"Yes he did!" Circuit yelled, making the two look down at her. She nodded at them. "Back at Nefarious's base, he hacked your cell's lock. He received a shock to his antennae when he was done."

"That was it," Al said. "The Hexzar Virus can be found in any electronic what can be hacked with an antennae or a finger port. But it's a very rare virus to come by. There's a 0.331284% chance of picking one up while hacking. So Clank was just very unlucky."

"Maybe Nefarious did something to the lock that made the chances of getting the virus greater," Circuit said, placing a digit on her chin.

"That is possible. Making the virus stronger in machines can be done, but it's very difficult to do. Not to mention illegal."

"This is Nefarious we're talking about, he doesn't care about how illegal something is!" Ratchet said.

"So, what is going to happen to Clank?" Circuit asked, getting on the tips of her feet so she could look at the other robot.

"This is the part that I don't want to talk about. The virus has made great progress on his CPU, and his Anti Virus Program isn't strong enough to stop it. But...if I could inject some nanotech containing a stronger Anti-Virus Program into his head, it might be able to help him through this."

"Then do it already! Don't just sit here and explain things, my best friend is dying!" Ratchet somewhat yelled. Circuit cringed a little, she didn't like it when Ratchet yelled.

"I'm on it. But, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave the area for awhile. I'll need full concentration, and you hovering over me is not going to help," Al said, looking at Ratchet.

The Lombax shook his head "No, I'm not leaving him."

"But-"

"No!"

"Ratchet, I-"

"Ratchet, come on. We need to let Mr. Al fix Clank. Standing here watching him is not going to make Clank heal any faster."

Ratchet looked down at Circuit, who was pulling in his hand towards the exit. He sighed, she was right. He wasn't helping Clank in anyway by standing there and yelling at Al. So he looked at Al and nodded.

"Get that virus out of him."

"I'll try my best."

And with that, Ratchet stormed out of the room, Circuit following close behind. Circuit followed him around the counter, through the room and out the door. Upon entering outside, she saw Ratchet sit down in one of those mini brick walls that help contain little nature preserves (with little trees and grass). Circuit walked over to him and looked up at his face. He looked terribly upset. So upset, that she could see a line of water forming at the bottom of his eyes. She tilted her head and climbed up next to him.

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

"I'm not. I'm just a bit upset and it's making my eyes water a little," Ratchet replied, wiping his eyes.

"Ratchet, I am worried about Clank too. But you trust Al, and he might be able to get Clank up and running again."

"Yeah, keyword: might...but I can't give up hope. Giving up hope is the last thing Clank would want me to do. But still...I can't help but be worried."

"...You need food."

"What?" Ratchet asked, giving Circuit a weird look.

"You need food. I have been studying organics a bit, mostly by observing what you do. And I could not help but notice that when you are consuming food, you become happy. So, now that you are upset, you need to eat some food. Because food makes you happy."

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh at Circuit's statement. His laughter confused the little robot, but confusion was soon replaced by her own laughter as Ratchet nuzzled her antennae with his hand playfully.

"_You_ make me happy," Ratchet said, pulling Circuit onto his lap.

"I do not think that I have made somebody happy before," Circuit said, placing her head on Ratchet's chest.

"That's not true, you make a lot of people happy."

"I do?"

"Yeah. You make me happy, Clank happy, you make Talwyn happy. Heck, you even make Cronk and Zephyr happy."

"Is it because they like my drawings?"

"Actually I think it's because of your adorable personality. At least, that's what got me to love you so much."

Circuit giggled, she's never felt so loved before. Ratchet looked down at her.

"What makes you happy, Circuit?"

"What makes me happy...?"

It was a sudden question for her. So she just said the first things that came to her that have ever made her feel happy.

"Well, you and Clank make me happy."

"Is that it?"

"Let's see...I enjoy drawing. And cuddling Little Ratchey is always enjoyable. And uh...I think that is about it...OH!"

Circuit looked at the distant sky, where the sun was getting ready to start setting. She reached a hand out towards the sun.

"Sunsets! I love watching sunsets. I would always watch it on the roof or through the window when we are at home."

"Oh yeah? I can't remember the last time I took the time to watch the sun set. Kinda wish that I would now."

"You should, it really is beautiful sight."

"Then how about I try and watch this one?" Ratchet said, looking at the distant sky as well.

"Alright," Circuit said, snuggling up to the Lombax. They watched the sky turn various colors as daytime started shifting into nighttime.

They sat there for what felt like hours when Al called out for them to come in. Ratchet, not letting Circuit go, completely forgot about the sunset and rushed back inside the shack.

Al was leading them to the back room again. He looked worried, very worried.

"I managed to hook up a nanotech system up to Clank's CPU. Hopefully it will help his Anti-Virus Program control the Hexzar Virus."

"Hopefully? You mean you're not certain that it will?" Ratchet asked, worried himself.

"I can't promise anything, Ratchet, and I'm sorry for that. The virus has infected a very large portion of his CPU, and I can't guarantee any positive results."

"You mean...Clank could still..."

"Now let's not jump to there! I am installing a lot of nanotech into his system, so there is a fairly good chance that he'll make it out unharmed. All we can do now is wait and hope while the nanotech does its stuff."

Ratchet sighed a bit, then looked around "Where is he? Can I go see him?"

"You can look at him through the window, yes. But it would be better if you just left him alone in the room. His systems are very concentrated right now, so no disturbance should be risked."

Al led them into the back room and over to a window, where Ratchet nearly fell to his knees. Of course, his shock caused him to drop Circuit, making her fall onto the ground. She was half expecting him to comfort her after letting her fall so roughly, but Ratchet just kept looking through the window at his best friend. She was a bit sad that she couldn't see Clank, but Ratchet's reaction made her a bit glad that she wasn't seeing what he was seeing.

"Clank..." Ratchet said quietly.

"I'll keep him overnight. We'll check on how he's doing in the morning," Al said, looking at Clank as well.

Circuit watched the two stare at the broken robot. She couldn't imagine what he looked like right now. Ratchet looked so upset, she was wondering about how he was feeling at the moment.

"I'm going to go close up shop," Al said, heading towards the door. Circuit watched him leave, and she could have sworn that she saw him shake his head sadly.

Then she looked up at Ratchet, who had taken a chair and placed it over by the window. He sat down in it and gave a large sigh.

"Look at what's happened to you, pal. You're sick, very sick. But...but you're not going to give up. I'm not going to give up. You're going to beat this virus, I know it. I won't give up hope. You're strong, pal, I know you are."

Circuit gave Ratchet a sad look, but she pretended to smile sadly when he glanced at her.

"You keep putting your hope into him, Ratchet."

"You better do your part too."

"I...I will, Ratchet...I will..."

Her voice trailed off, but Ratchet didn't seem to notice. She was thinking about something, something that she's never thought about. And it was also something that she didn't like to think about. After a while, she finished thinking. Her mind was at ease. Now all she wanted to do was see Clank in person, not behind a window. She looked up at Ratchet, who had fallen asleep in the chair. Looking around, she did not see Al anywhere. So now was the time. Her eyes moved towards Clank's room's door, and she nodded to herself.

Circuit stepped into the small room, trying not to make any sounds as she closed the door behind her. She looked at Clank, whose appearance was a bit painful to look at. She now knew why Ratchet had almost fell to his knees.

Clank was laying on a small metal table, eyes shut, completely void of life. Two tubes that had been attached to him were hooked up to two machines. One, which was attached to his arm, dispensed a fluid that acted as a robot kind version of IVI. The other was attached to his head. This one was administering the nanotech that would hopefully help his Anti-Virus Program fight the virus. She took a moment to scan him though, and the results were just a bigger infection than what she had detected earlier. Nothing has changed, just worsened.

Circuit grabbed a nearby stool and pushed it over to the side of the table, then she climbed on top of it. She noticed that Clank didn't have anything to keep him comfortable, not even a pillow. Feeling bad for him, Circuit unzipped her jacket and took it off. She then folded it up and placed it under Clank's head. Then she grabbed his hand and held it. She shook her head sadly.

"We both know that none of this is going to help you. Even Al knows it. We all know that the odds of you surviving this are extraordinarily low, but Ratchet will not give up hope."

No response, just silence. Circuit continued.

"Ratchet told me about how the two of you became friends. You sounded so brave during your first adventure. Even I do not think that I would have been able to put up with Ratchet's attitude, but, being the strong robot you are, you stayed by his side, no matter how badly he criticized you. And look at you two now, intergalactic heroes and best friends. Ratchet told me that would not know what to do without you..."

Circuit paused for a moment. She had just realized that Ratchet was most likely about to lose his best friend. He would not know what to do if Clank did pass away. She knew that it would be extremely painful to watch Ratchet's reaction to Clank's CPU shutting down. It would be painful for her as well, but Ratchet has known Clank for ten years, she has only known him for about ten days. It wouldn't hurt her as much as it would hurt Ratchet, he would surely be crushed by his loss.

Circuit looked at Clank again.

"I have always thought of you and Ratchet as brothers. Though it is not possible for a robot and a organic to be related when it comes to blood and everything, but they can be related emotionally. I know, because I called Ratchet 'daddy' last night. And I do not regret saying it. But, I know that you and Ratchet have a much stronger bond than I do with him. You are more his brother than I am his daughter...that is, if he even sees me a a daughter. Which I doubt he does. But, that it not the point. You cannot die, Clank. You cannot die for Ratchet's sake. He needs you. I know that you cannot fight the virus very well, but you have to try."

Still no response, just more silence. Circuit sighed sadly. It was no use, he couldn't hear her. But she wanted to keep talking to him, maybe he would fight better if he heard a familiar voice. But she knew that that theory was ridiculous. She lowered her head. There was only one thing to do.

"I guess all we can do now is hope...or more if we can," she said, glancing at Clank's head panel.

**Several hours later**

"Ratchet! Ratchet, get up!"

Ratchet was startled when he opened his eyes and saw Big Al's face. After recovering from the mini-heart attack, he looked at Al.

"What? What is it?"

"It's Clank! He woke up!"

"WHAT?!"

Ratchet shot straight up out of the chair and he quickly ran into the room, not even bothering to look through the window. He threw open the door and looked through the doorway and into the room. Sure enough, Clank was sitting up on the table, the tube was still connected to his head though. Circuit was there sitting next to him, a smile on her face. She looked exhausted, she must have stayed up all night watching him.

"Clank," Ratchet said as he walked over to his robot friend. He wanted to hug him, but he was afraid that the force would hurt Clank. Also, Circuit was sitting right there, he didn't want to embarrass him. So he grabbed his shoulders "The next time you suggest hacking a machine, I will smack you."

"I will try to remember that the next time we are on a mission," Clank said, followed by his signature giggle.

"Well, the virus did not affect his laugh, that is good," Circuit said, making Clank giggle again.

"All the traces of the Hexzar Virus are gone, your nanotech boosted Anti-Virus System must have destroyed it overnight," Al said, entering the room.

"So he's going to be alright?" Ratchet asked.

"Yup. I'll disconnect the tubes in your head and arm and you'll be free to go home. But I do suggest that you take it easy for the next day or two, your processor has been through a lot."

Clank nodded and Al started disconnecting the tube that was in his arm.

Circuit watched as Ratchet happily patted the top of Clank's head (without hitting the tube). She smiled at them. Once again, she was envying their brother-like bond. The two of them were so happy when they were with each other, she couldn't help but feel happy with them. Maybe that was another thing that made her happy, seeing others being happy.

Circuit felt a hand grab hers, and it wasn't Ratchet's. She looked up to see Clank smiling at her, and of course she smiled back. To think that if Clank hadn't been freed from the virus, she would have never see those brilliant green eyes ever again.

Oh, that's another thing to add to her list of things that make her happy.

* * *

**...I honestly had no idea how to end this chapter. So, sorry if that ending line isn't satisfying.**

**Hexzar Virus- I totally made the name up. So yeah, just wanna get that out there.**

**Also, my god, This story went from 62 reviews to 72 reviews! Keep it up guys, your reviews help me a lot. If you liked something about the chapter, then tell me! I wanna know what you liked so I can implement it into future chapters.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	22. Chapter 22

"Ahh, home sweet virus-free home," Ratchet said, yawning a bit as he, Clank and Circuit entered the apartment. He stretched his arms, but his right hand quickly retreated to the back of his neck "But apparently this home is not sore neck-free. Sleeping while sitting upright can never do you any good."

Clank and Circuit looked at each other and rolled their eyes, making Ratchet glare at them. Then he started rubbing the back of his neck and replaced the glare with just a glance "Hey Clank, do we have any meds for a sore neck?"

"Mmm, I believe that we have pain killer pills. They should be on top of the refrigerator if I am correct," the little male robot replied.

Ratchet nodded and walked into the kitchen, then looked up on top of the refrigerator. He located a small bottle full of small white capsule pills. He opened the bottle and grabbed one of the pills, then he went to grab a bottle of water when he saw Clank beginning to walk down the bedroom hallway.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ratchet asked, looking down the hallway.

Clank turned around and tapped his head "Even though the Hexzar Virus has left my system, I must check all of my files and components to make sure that nothing was corrupted. It may take awhile, so I am going to lay down in our room. If that is alright with you."

"Oh, yeah, it's fine Clank. Take all the time that you need. I don't want you having any corrupt files or whatever either. Just...call me if you need anything, though. And if you feel any sort of pain in your head, come to me right away, got it?"

"I will," was all Clank said.

"I'm serious, Clank. One little ping in you head, you come straight to me. No excuses."

"I understand, Ratchet." And like that, the little robot entered the bedroom, leaving just Ratchet and Circuit.

Circuit, who looked completely exhausted, went to the fridge and grabbed a can of oil. After taking a sip of the black liquid, she retired to a chair in the living room, where she just sat there with the drink in her hands. She wasn't really looking at or doing anything, her eyes were empty, she was thinking.

Ratchet, on the other hand, quickly swallowed the pain killer pill and felt instant relief. His neck was no longer hurting and he gave stretching another try, no pain at all. After drinking the rest of the water bottle, he entered the living room. The Lombax looked out the window, where hovertraffic was going back and forth across the sky. He shrugged to himself.

"It's funny how all of those people in all of those hovercars don't know that one of the universe's greatest heroes almost died last night. Eh, I guess some things are better left unsaid and not made public, like my idea for the Anti Matter Bathroom Buddy. Did Talwyn ever tell you about that Circuit?" Ratchet asked, looking at the little female robot.

No response.

"Circuit? Hello? Did Talwyn tell you about my weird inventions?"

Pure silence.

"Circuit?"

Nothing. The was making the Lombax a bit irritated. He walked over to her chair and raised his leg.

"Hey! Circuit!" Ratchet yelled out, and he kicked the base of the chair that Circuit was sitting in so he could get her attention. Him kicking the chair startled her and she lost her grip on her can of oil. She quickly fumbled for it, only for the can to get hit by her hand midair. The oil in the can spilled out and splashed onto Circuit. The little robot whimpered a little as the oil got into her eyes, but she managed to wipe it out quickly. But the rest of her face and her shoulders were covered in oil.

Normally, if it had been Clank who spilled the oil onto their face, Ratchet would be on the floor laughing. But, instead of falling to the floor not being able to breathe, Ratchet quickly jumped in front of Circuit and observed the mess.

"Aw Circuit, I'm so sorry! I didn't think that it would startle you that much. You were really zoned out and I was just trying to get your attention."

"It is alright, Ratchet," Circuit said. "I should have been paying attention to what you were saying. But now I know that whenever I zone out, I should stand up instead of sitting in a kickable chair."

"Ugh, you're covered in oil. Come on, let's go clean you up." Ratchet said, picking Circuit up and trying his best not to get oil on his shirt.

The two travelled down the hallway and into the bathroom. Circuit looked around the place as Ratchet set her down on the edge of the sink. It was a fairly big bathroom, with a bathtub, sink, towel hanger, and, of course, a toilet.

Ratchet grabbed one of the smaller towels off of the hanger and doused it with warm water in the sink that Circuit was sitting on. But before he started any cleaning, he nodded towards her.

"Give me your jacket, can't clean your shoulders with it on."

Circuit removed her black jacket and handed it to Ratchet, who gave it a quick whiff. He swiftly brought the jacket away from his nose and shook his head.

"Whoo! That is not a pleasant scent. This has oil all over it too by the smell of it. And I'm sure that it's none too fresh after being worn for two weeks."

"Do not insult my jacket," Circuit said.

"I don't think that you can insult a jacket, Circuit. And even if you could, I'm not insulting it, I'm just stating facts. Now hold still you little weirdo," Ratchet said, tossing the jacket aside and wiping Circuit's face with the towel. The warm water that the towel has soaked up made the oil come right off.

"Hey, did you stay up watching Clank all night?" Ratchet asked, removing the towel from her now oil-free face and moving on to her shoulders.

"Yes, I did," Circuit said, getting some water and towel fuzzies out of her eyes.

"So you slept for zero hours and zero minutes last night?"

"That is correct."

"Wow, talk about commitment. I really wanted to stay up with Clank too, but drowsiness got the best of me. But at least Clank had you to watch over him."

"You told me to do my part, so I did my part."

"Yeah, you did your part alright. Dedication, that's another thing that I love about you."

After a few more minutes of, Ratchet finally got all of the oil off of Circuit. He threw the oil covered towel into the bathtub.

"There, you're all clean. About time too. I haven't seen you clean yourself in any way since we found you."

"What about that water wave that soaked Clank and I on Pokitaru?"

"Uhhh, no. I'm not counting that."

Circuit clicked her heels together and rolled her eyes as Ratchet grabbed her jacket off of the ground. He observed it, making out the distinct blotches of dark oil in the dark jacket.

"We'll have to throw this into the washer to get the oil stains out. Good thing I'm doing laundry today."

"I will help you," Circuit said, climbing down off of the sink's edge.

"No no no, you're not doing anything. It's nap time for you, young lady," Ratchet said, quickly picking the little robot up.

"What? Why?"

"Circuit, you didn't get any sleep last night, and that's not good for your battery. You need to get some rest. So I'm taking you to your room so you can take a nap and recharge."

"And what if I refuse?"

"I'll tickle you until you pass out."

"...Take me to my room, please."

"That's what I thought."

Ratchet carried Circuit to her bedroom, where he set her down on the bed. The little robot looked around the bedspread, her expression becoming a bit worried.

"Where is Little Ratchey?"

"Uhhh...oh! I think he's out in the living room. You brought him with you when you found me playing video games in the middle of the night, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Can you go and get him please?"

"Yeah," Ratchet said walking towards the door. But he turned around and pointed at Circuit. "You...stay...don't move a muscle...j-just...no move!"

"I will not leave the room," Circuit said as she sat down.

"Good girl."

Ratchet quickly exited the hallways and entered the living room. He walked around the couch in search of the Lombax plushie. He thought it was nice that Circuit loved it so much, because Ratchet would have never given the toy that much love, since he was older. He didn't even touch the Lombax plush for comfort when Clank had been kidnapped by the Zoni. He snuggled a Secret Agent Clank toy instead. So Circuit was able to give Little Ratchey the love that it never really got from him. And he thought that it was kind of adorable the way that she cuddles it. Then again, she was with Nefarious when she was younger, so she's probably never had a toy before, so having the plushie probably meant a lot to her. That would explain why she noticed that Little Ratchey wasn't on her bed so quickly.

Ratchet was about to fix the missing Little Ratchey problem when he located the plushie under the couch. Circuit must have accidentally knocked it off the couch when she had woken up. And since Ratchet had been talking she never noticed the knocked over toy.

With Little Ratchey safe in his hand, Ratchet exited the living room and reentered Circuit's bedroom. He couldn't help but smile as the little robot's face lit up (her eyes even got a bit brighter) when he handed her the stuffed animal. Then he nuzzled her antennae with his hand.

"There, I got your cutely named plushie. Now lay down and go to sleep, _please,_" he said, turning around and walking towards the door.

"W-wait!" Circuit yelled out, reaching a hand in Ratchet's direction.

"What?"

"I do not know if I can fall asleep easily when it is still daylight," she said, glancing at the window.

"Well...what do you want me to do?"

"Umm...well I have been researching organics lately as I have told you before. And one of the things that I read was that organic children fall asleep with more ease when their parent, guardian, or relative tell them some sort of passage from a book or from their memories."

Ratchet tilted his head and gave Circuit a look "Are...are you asking me to read you a bedtime story?"

"Well, a uh...naptime story...that is the proper terminology for this situation." Ratchet stared at her for a few moments. Circuit lowered her head a little. "You do not have to if you do not want to."

Circuit was surprised when Ratchet had started laughing a bit. He had to cover his mouth in order to quiet down his laughter. The little robot looked at him.

"Is my request so pathetic that it is humorous?"

"Pathetic?" Ratchet said. "It's adorable! And you explaining what you want in such an advanced way, then saying 'naptime story' like a little kid. I'm sorry, I just found that to be kinda funny."

"So...is that a 'no' to the story?"

"Nah, I can spend a few minutes boring you to sleep with a story," Ratchet said as he walked back over and sat on the bed. "So, what kind of 'passage' do you want to hear?"

"Uhhh...ummm...ooh! Tell me another one of your hero stories!"

"Hero stories?"

"Yeah, the ones where you and Clank go on an adventure to save the galaxy! _Please_ Ratchet, those ones are my favorite."

No matter how tough he was, Ratchet could never say no to that cute of a 'please'. He shrugged and sat back a little "Alright, I guess I can tell you another heroic tale. So gather around robotic children, it's time for the story of the villain Stuart Zurgo and how a Lombax and a robot kicked his butt."

Circuit grabbed Little Ratchey and snuggled up to Ratchet in anticipation.

"Alright, so there we were on the Starship Phoenix II with Captain Qwark-"

"Captain Qwark? Wasn't he the bad guy in the story with the Protopet?"

"Yes, but he changed his ways. He's a good guy now and president of a whole galaxy. Anyway, all three of us were getting pretty bored with nothing around to shoot or blow up. But then we received a transmission from some sort of masked man. He said that several Planetary Defense Centers were going to be taken by Grungarian Marauders-"

"What's going to be taken by what now?"

"Good things were going to be taken by bad things!"

"Oh."

"Continuing, the three of us headed towards a place called Q-Force Headquarters and defended it with every bit of strength that we had. Luckily we managed to protect the base and the planet that it was located on. Then we received another transmission, this time the masked man appeared without the mask. The man turned out to be an old Qwark fanboy nerd called Stuart Zurgo!"

"Even the name sounds nerdy."

"I know, right? Stuart wanted revenge on Qwark because his 'hero' let him down so many times. So he attacked several planets, all of which we barely managed to save. There were explosions wherever there was an attack. But, while we were busy fighting, Zurgo managed to hack the Starship Phoenix II and took control over the weather grid. So now we were fighting snow tornado, and I didn't have a single jacket on...it was not a great experience. Then we tracked Zurgo to his Lair of Doom, where he showed up in this giant mech. I mean this thing was huge! But, with a few RYNO blasts and some hits with my Omniwrench, Clank and I took Zurgo down. It was a short adventure, but being attacked by Zurgo was a nice twist. Very interesting opponent. Not a bad tale, huh Circuit?"

"..."

"Circuit?"

Ratchet looked down, thinking that Circuit had zoned out again. But, to his surprise, she was asleep. He guessed that she was right about telling stories helping children sleep. He carefully moved her so her head was laying on the bed's pillow. He covered her up and made sure that Little Ratchey was in place. Then he sighed, placed his hands on his waist, and looked up a little.

"I'll have to send a thank you card in the mail, Zurgo. You helped my robotic daughter fall asleep."

* * *

**Yeah...he just called Circuit his daughter**

**A bit of a short chapter, I know, but I didn't want to continue the plot just yet. I will start more plot movement next chapter though!**

**...I didn't really like Full Frontal Assault, but I loved Secret Agent Clank and Size Matters...huh**

**I leave to go camping on Friday by the way, so you probably won't see another chapter until Monday. I'll bring S'mores back (we use Reeses in our s'mores)**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	23. Chapter 23

Circuit yawned as she woke up from her nap. Ratchet was right, it was exactly what she needed. She felt completely rested and refreshed.

The little robot took a few moments to stretch, yawn, and cuddle Little Ratchey. Then she swung over legs over the side of the bed and dropped down to the floor. She noticed her black jacket hanging on the back of the desk chair. Ratchet must have cleaned it and put it there while she was asleep. Circuit grabbed the jacket and put it on, not zipping it up. Then she left the room and entered the hallway. The first thing she noticed was that there was no sign of Clank in the living room when she peeked into it. There was just Ratchet playing his video games.

As much as she wanted to join the Lombax, Circuit turned around and walked further down the hallway, stopping at one of the last doors. She reached up and grabbed the doorknob, slowly opening the door as quietly as she could. The little robot placed her head into the room as soon as the gap was big enough. She could detect Clank laying on the bed. He must be still sleeping, but she wanted to see him and hopefully talk to him. So she sneaked all the way into the room, closing the door behind her. Then she scurried over to the edge of the bed and stood on the tips of her feet so she could see what was on the bed. But she accidentally gripped the bed's comforter and made the covers shift as she tried to keep her balance. She saw Clank's body move a bit.

"Huh? Circuit, are you trying to take the covers off of the bed?" Clank asked, looking at the purple eyed robot, which surprised her.

"Hey, you are not sleeping!" Circuit said, pulling herself up onto the bed and sitting on her knees.

"No, but I did want to relax a bit for the sake of my processors. They tend not to be in a relaxed state when I am around Ratchet. Especially when we are playing that car stealing game," the male robot said, stretching a bit. He was trying to loosen himself up. But he always seemed to be tense when Circuit was around him.

"Ah, I love that game! We played it the other night when you were in bed!"

"Wait, you what?! Circuit, that game is not appropriate for you!" Clank said sitting up.

"Do not worry, Clank. All we did was steal some cars and drive up some ramps...oh! And had helicopter battle in the sky."

"Ugh," Clank said, spreading out his arms and landing back on the pillow, "Ratchet should know better than to have you play a violent game. You are too young."

"Hey! You yourself are young! So do not go bashing on my age! We are both basically children!" Circuit said jumping up in front to Clank with an irritated look on her face. She was surprised on how...how serious she sounded. It wasn't something that she liked very much.

"Hmm? Am I...am I detecting anger in your voice?" the male robot asked, sitting back up.

"A-Anger? Uhh...I think so..." the female robot said.

"Circuit, have you developed a...a temper?"

_'Temper?'_

_Temper- a person's state of mind seen in terms of their being angry or calm_

"Umm...yeah, I guess you could that...why? Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it depends how short your temper is. I have never really seen you get angry before, so I doubt that you become angry easily. And I suppose that someone telling you that you are too young to play a video game, even though the person telling is is also young but plays the game is a valid reason to get upset."

"I think that you are overthinking this a bit. Everyone has a temper, so why is it a surprise that I have one?" Circuit asked, placing her cheek on her fist.

"Because you never get angry. Even when Ratchet held you out of a window, you did not get angry! You are just too nice to be mad at anybody! That is probably why everyone you meet likes you!"

"Actually, daddy said that everyone likes me because of my adorable personality."

"Daddy?" Clank said, tilting his head with a confused look on his face.

Circuit's face would be turning bright red at that moment. She didn't mean for that word to slip out, and she knew that there was no taking it back. He knew now that she called Ratchet 'daddy'. It felt so embarrassing, saying 'daddy' right in front of her crush. Maybe she could try and deny it.

"RATCHET! I meant Ratchet! Not daddy! I mean, hah-hah, wh-wh-why would I call Ratchet...heh-heh..."

"Circuit...do see Ratchet as...as your father?"

"Uhhhh...well umm...I uhh...y-yes, a little bit," Circuit lied. She didn't see Ratchet as a father a little bit, she was willing to call him 'daddy' for the rest of her life.

"You do not have to be so embarrassed, Circuit. I was actually expecting this to happen."

"Wait, you were?"

"Yes. Ratchet was willing to protect you since the day he found you. I knew that this care and protection provided by him would grow on you, and you would see Ratchet as some sort of guardian. Or, as you called him earlier, a father. I know, because it happened to me. Except I perceive Ratchet to be a brother, not a father."

"Oh...you really are smart."

Clank, trying his very best not to blush but he was probably failing greatly, nodded "It also explains why you have been acting like Ratchet."

"What? I-I've been acting like da-Ratchet?" Circuit said, pointing to herself. Her, act like Ratchet? Ratchet was an adventurous hero who liked to fight and shoot guns. Last time she checked, she was nothing like that at all. She didn't like to fight, she was a bit adventurous, but she really didn't like to use guns. At all.

"Yes, a little bit."

"What examples do you have?"

"Well, for starters, you just said 'I've' instead of 'I have' like you usually do. You are using contraction. And Ratchet is the only one who uses contractions here, I do not."

"So? I used contractions like that when you first found me. I used 'don't' and 'isn't' and other words like that."

"But you stopped using those words after a short while. But now you are starting it up again. And I cannot help but notice that you have spent quite a lot of time with Ratchet lately."

"So, are you saying that I should stop hanging out with Ratchet?"

"What? No, no, no, that is not what I meant at all! You are free to spend all the time with Ratchet as you please! I am just saying, spending long periods of time with him is having a bit of how you act. Not that there is anything wrong with that," Clank said when he noticed Circuit's somewhat offended face. "It is just an observation I made."

"Oh...well, I want to act more like you. I want to be smart and logical. So maybe I should spend more time with you."

"M-Me?" Clank asked nervously, pointing to himself. The little purple eyed robot nodded, making the green eyed robot's face become warm.

"That virus made us separate two nights ago because it was making you head hurt. And the headache went on for the whole next day, then the virus made you pass out until the next morning. Then we came home and we both went to bed. And here we are now, late in the afternoon. So we have not spent any time together in nearly two days. And that...that is not okay."

"Well, when your CPU is infected with a deadly virus and you are unconscious, you tend not to be able to spend time with the ones you love."

"That did not stop me from sitting up with you all night last night. I talked non-stop. I even resorted to naming all the elements in the periodic table just to show you how well I can remember them...which was surprisingly very well," Circuit said, recalling all the non-conversations she had with the previously unconscious Clank.

Clank was astonished. He had known that Circuit had stayed up with him all night, but he had no idea that she had talked to him in his inactivated state. And she even recited all the elements in the periodic table? That just made him even more happy. The periodic table was one of this most favorite things in the universe. It played a large part in his love for science. He wondered is Circuit liked science...she probably will if she wants to be like him.

Then, he remembered something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I did a bit of research on the Hexzar Virus."

Circuit looked straight up at Clank with wide eyes "Wh-why?"

"I was just a bit curious to see what the virus was. But it was basically everything that Al had told us. It enters from a hackable machine through an antennae or port and it eats away at the CPU. The maximum lifespan of an infected robot is five or six days. But I found something very interesting online. They purposely infected a drone with the Hexzar virus as an experiment. When the drone died, they rebooted it and it came back to life. But the robot died again soon after because the virus was still active. They rebooted it over and over again until they eventually concluded that the virus was unstoppable...Circuit? Are you alright?"

Circuit had her her hands in fists and her eyes were wide. But, after hearing Clank ask if she was alright, she quickly uncurled her hands and her eyes returned back to normal. She smiled politely and nodded "I am fine. I just...I just cannot believe that the fate of that drone was about to become your fate."

"Well, it is all over now. I made a full recovery thanks to Al and his nanotech system."

"Yeah, that nanotech with the Anti Virus System really...really did the trick," Circuit said, folding up her legs and placing her hands under her knees.

"Circuit, are you sure that you are alright? You look...well, I am not going to lie but, you look a bit depressed."

"D-Depressed? No no no no no! I am fine, I really am! Anyway," Circuit said, scooting up next to Clank in a cute fashion. "I think that I am going to stick with my idea of spending time with you."

"I like that idea."

"But, of course, I cannot just ignore Ratchet..."

"And I do not expect you to. You can spend as much time as you want with whoever you want."

Circuit smiled appreciatively, then she placed her head on Clank's shoulder, making Clank's face, of course, warm up quite a bit. But he could help but notice that Circuit had actually hesitated before placing her head on his shoulder. That was awfully strange. She had done something like this before, and even then she hadn't hesitated. What made her hesitate now? Was...was she possibly not interested in him? No, no that can't be true. They kissed on the rooftop, and Circuit did indeed kiss back. Something was possibly wrong. Clank thought about asking her about it, but she spoke before he could even get a single word out.

"Hey Clank. Ratchet told me that I make people happy, including you. Is that true?"

"Yes, that is very true."

Circuit was a bit dissatisfied with the answer. But she continued "Ratchet also said that something about me gets people to love me. He said that my adorable personality and determination is why he loves me. Do you have a certain reason about why you love me?"

"Well, that is a bit of a difficult question..." Clank said, putting a hand on the back of his head nervously. How could he sum up how much he loved about Circuit. Like Ratchet, he loved her personality and determination. He also loved how sweet of a robot she was, he does not think that he was met anyone nicer in his life. And she doesn't even try, she's just naturally nice. Not to mention that she was built at the hands of an evil villain, but there was no sign of evil in the purple eyed robot. Speaking of eyes, that was possibly one of the most favorite things about Circuit, her violet eyes. Clank could go on and on about how much he loved Circuit's calming purple eyes, but he couldn't tell her that her eyes are the reason for loving her. That would basically be saying that he loved her for her looks. And that might earn him a slap to the face.

"I guess I would have to agree with Ratchet, I love your personality. You were built to be evil, but you are the nicest person I have ever met."

"Weird, I would say the same thing about you. As Ratchet told me, you were supposed to be a sentry bot for a villain named Chairman Drek, but you turned out to be good. So you were supposed to be evil and mean, but you turned out to be good and very polite. I still cannot believe how mean Ratchet was to you back then."

"Ratchet cannot believe it either. He still apologizes to me to this very day. But, that old Lombax is no more. Ratchet matured and became more reasonable and less cruel."

"Do you enjoy adventuring with Ratchet?"

"Of course I do. I left my job at the Great Clock just so I could keep travelling with him. We have been through many adventures, and no doubt that there are many lying ahead in the future. And...and I hope that you will join m-us on those adventures, Circuit," Clank said, taking Circuit's hand and giving affectionate squeeze.

"Going on future adventures..." Circuit mumbled, then she frowned. She closed her eyes and thought about something for a few moments, then opened her eyes again. She looked up at Clank. "Clank, there is something I need to tell you. I was worried about what your reaction would at first but I think that you deserve to know."

Clank felt his heart jump a bit, he looked down at Circuit. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Well, you know that I love you,"

Clank felt his heart explode. He tried to contain his emotions as best as he could as he continued listening to Circuit.

"But, I have to tell you this. Back at Al's Robo Shack. When you were hooked up to that machine...I-"

The sound of the bedroom door opening cut Circuit off. Ratchet appeared in the doorway. "Hey Clank, wake up pal. I don't want you to be up all n-oh! Am I uh...am I interrupting?" He asked with a smile.

It only took both robots a short time to realize what the whole scene must look like. Both of their faces turned bright red (metaphorically).

"No! No you are not interrupting anything!" Clank said, waving his hands and shaking his head.

"He is right! We were not doing anything! Not a single thing-AHH!" Circuit shrieked as she scooted away from Clank and fell off the side of the bed.

Clank quickly looked at the ground to make sure that Circuit wasn't injured. "Circuit? Are you okay?"

The little robot pulled her jacket hood over her eyes and nodded. "Yeah...yeah I am okay," she said, now scooting her body backwards until she was under the bed. Whenever she was embarrassed like this, she just wanted to hide. So hide she will.

Unfortunately, her hiding time was cut short by Ratchet pulling in the back of her jacket and dragging her out from under the bed. Then the Lombax flicked her antennae a few times so she would let go of her hood. He uncovered her eyes and looked at her.

"You're so cute when you're extremely embarrassed."

Both Circuit and Clank gave Ratchet a nasty look for interrupting and making them feel embarrassed. The Lombax just placed his hands on his waist and shrugged while throwing in a few amused laughs. Then he nodded towards the door.

"Alright you two lovebirds. Enough with the death glares, let's go out into the living room and play some video games or something."

Ratchet turned around and left the room as Clank got off the bed and dropped to the floor. He looked at Circuit and the two robots shrugged and followed Ratchet out of the room, even though they wanted to continue having their conversation.

They were about to pass Circuit's room when Clank stopped and turned around to face Circuit.

"Oh, Circuit. You said that you needed to tell me something."

"Er, oh yeah. I did. I uh...I actually forgot what I was going to tell you," Circuit said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh...that is alright. Maybe it will come back to you later."

"Yeah, maybe-AH!" Circuit's eyes shot wide open as she felt her head become a bit heavy. Her vision was starting to become a bit distorted and dimmed. She has felt this feeling before, but only one other time.

_"Why is he doing this again...?"_ Circuit asked to herself.

"Is something wrong, Circuit?" Clank asked, looking concerned.

"I am okay. I just...I need to go into my room for awhile."

"Your room? What for?"

"I...I uh...I forgot to make my bed!" Circuit said, as her vision was starting to become dimmer and her body was becoming heavy like her head.

"You forgot to make y-"

"Yes! I need to do it quickly! I hopefully will not be long! Bye!" Circuit turned her back on a confused Clank and rushed into her room, locking the door behind her.

She stumbled over to the bed, but she didn't think that she would make it to the top of it. Her knees buckled and she grabbed the bed's comforter to help stop her fall. Dragging some of the covers with her, Circuit sank to the ground as her vision become engulfed in darkness. Before she passed out, she kept telling herself to ignore it like Ratchet had told her to.

_"Ignore it. Kick him out of I have to. This is my CPU, I cannot let him in...not when I am like this..."_

* * *

**SO. MUCH. DIALOGUE.**

**Hmm, Circuit seems to be hiding something from Ratchet and Clank. What's keeping her from telling them? Who knows?**

**...**

**Oh, that's right, I know.**

**I was going to move the plot along in this chapter, but a lot of people wanted Clank and Circuit stuff.**

**Anyway, I am back from camping! (UUUGGGHHHHH SO MANY BUGS) So hopefully updates won't take a whole week.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster (I was going to give out S'mores...but I ate them all)**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	24. Chapter 24

_'Okay, I am here now. I just need to keep calm, and focus. Remember what Ratchet said.'_

_Circuit sat on her knees, her head down and her eyes closed. Her hands were closing into tight fists. She hadn't even bothered watching all the darkness form around her as it usually did in previous nightmares and Connections. She had to focus at the moment, she had to remember everything that Ratchet had told her before. If HE shows his face around her own CPU, kick him out. Literally kick him out. This is her CPU, no one else's, so no unwanted visitors should be allowed in. Circuit mumbled the directions that Ratchet had given her._

_"Do not let him in...this my CPU, do not let him in. Ignore it. Ignore him. This is my CPU, and mine only. Do not let him in. Do not-"_

_"Are you quite done?"_

_Circuit heard him behind her, which had startled her a bit. However, she refused to look at him, she did not want to see the evil that her blood was associated with. Not to mention that she could never stand the sight of his blood red eyes, they were extremely unsettling. So she kept her eyes screwed shut, unwilling to release the violet glow that they emitted, and she kept repeating her directions for this situation._

_"This is my CPU, and no one else's. Ignore him. Ignore the Connection. Ignore all of it. Wake up and tell Ratchet. This is-"_

_"Oh shut up already! I'm here, and there's no point in ignoring me! What? Do I have to kick your ass in order for you to notice me?" Klunk yelled, slightly irritated._

_"You were a lot nicer last time..." Circuit mumbled, loud enough for Klunk to hear._

_"That's because I wanted to approach you gently in order to hopefully gain a bit of your trust. But that plan obviously failed. So, I think that it's about time you learn what happens when you say 'no' to both Nefarious and I," the red eyed robot said, slowly walking up behind her._

_"The only real threatening thing that you have done is raise your voice. Is that your method of-AHH!"_

_Circuit yelled as she received a rather vicious kick to the back of the head. She fell of of her knees and she sprawled out on the ground, feeling the back of her head for any dents. But before she could locate any, she received another vicious kick, only this time it was too the face. She screamed in pain as Klunk's foot shattered her left eye, its glass fragments flying in all directions. Klunk then grabbed her by the jacket and dragged her up to him._

_"Hm, I say that this is a bit worse than raising my voice, don't you think? Now then, I'm going to make this quick and simple for the sake of the both of us. You are going to come back to Nefarious so you can be evil again. You are evil, you have always been evil, and now you need to act like the evil creature that you are. Understand?"_

_"I...I..." Circuit said weakly, oil leaking out of her broken eye._

_"You...you what? What are you waiting for? Spit it out!"_

_"I...I am not evil...I refuse to join you..."_

_Klunk growled with anger as he threw Circuit down onto the ground "BAH! You idiotic girl! I can't believe that I share the same blood with such a spineless piece of scrap metal! Not to mention that you're a lover of squishies!"_

_"Sq-squishies?"_

_"Yes squishies! Organic creatures! Like that filthy ignorant Lombax that you've come to love so much. So much that you're even willing to call him 'daddy'. Do you have any idea what a disgrace you re to the robot race? We robots are treated like we're below the organic race, even though we could easily overpower them. We were built to be superior, and it's damn well time that you start doing your part!"_

_"No, no that is not true. Ratchet treats me like an equal, so I want to treat him like an equal. Robots should not be the dominate species, we should not act superior. We are equal to the organics, not below them like you say we are," Circuit said, propping herself up on her elbows._

_"Equals? EQUALS?! Honestly! If Nefarious didn't need you, I would kill you right here, right now for saying that! I tried being nice to you, I tried being mean to you, I even threatened you and beat you up and you still won't come to our side! That's it! I'm done trying to ask for your allegiance. It appears...it appears that I have to take matters into my own hands. Or should I say...your hands?" Klunk said walking a fair distance away from Circuit, who was trying to stop her eye from bleeding._

_Circuit watched Klunk walk away from her. Well, she half-watched him walk away, since half of her vision was gone. The broken eye was throbbing and stinging like crazy, the pain was nearly unbearable for her to handle. For a brother, he wasn't very caring. What had happened to him calling her his 'dear sister'? She thought about what Klunk had said before walking away. Into her hands? How was he going to take matters into his own hands by taking them into her hands? Curious about what he said, she kept her watch on Klunk until he stopped at a distance of about sixteen feet. He looked at her with what appeared to be an angry face, but there was another emotion mixed in with the anger, but Circuit couldn't make it out since she couldn't see very well._

_"Nefarious wanted me to get mean so you would listen to me, but I see now that words, threats, and beatings will not win you over. Your sense of dedication is much too strong. So, I'll have to make you embrace your evil side by force. And you can't scream or cry when I do this because I gave you plenty of chances, but you turned down each and every offer. So the only person you have to blame for me doing this is yourself," Klunk said, loud enough so Circuit could hear him._

_Klunk reached behind his back, and a moment later he pulled out the same shadow machete that he had used in the previous Connection. He twirled it around a few times before looking down at the solid white ground. He tapped the ground a few times with the machete's blade, making Circuit feel a slight ping inside her head. Then she remembered the significance of the ground. The ground, like Klunk had said before, was HER. And if he had the machete's blade pointed at the ground, that means he was going to..._

_"No! Stop! Please, do not penetrate the ground!" Circuit said, trying to stand up._

_"Oh? Are you ready to admit your evil ways?" Klunk asked, tilting his head._

_"I...I...I uh..."_

_"Hm, I guess not. Pity. Well then, let's see how evil you can truly be!"_

_Klunk raised the machete, and in one quick swipe, he ripped open the ground. Circuit tried her best not to scream as the inside of her head felt like it was on fire. It was awful. The pain was so horrific, it made that commando that had crushed her body feel like nothing. But she was surprised that Klunk wasn't laughing at her pain like he had done with Clank. Instead, he just kept his hands on the machete's blade and looked at her with a blank, uncaring face._

_When the pain subsided a little bit, Circuit laid on the ground, taking many theoretical breaths. Then she looked up and saw Klunk watching something. It didn't take her long to see the odd purple mist flowing out of the ground's wound. But it wasn't exactly mist, it looked much more dense and it was even glowing. She had never seen such a substance before. Even her scanner couldn't figure out what it was. Why was Klunk so interested in this purple mist?_

_"Ahh, it is quite beautiful, I'll give you that. You see this weird mist here? You may think that it's just some weird substance coming out if the ground, but it should mean so much more to you. What I should classify this mist as, I cannot tell you. I guess you could call it your sense of good, your aura, or...your sanity."_

_"My...my sanity?" Circuit said quietly, her one good eye going wide._

_Klunk nodded, then continued. "This mist...it wreaks of goodness and love of squishies, it greatly sickens me. And you refuse to help me and change the scent of it. So it's time for me to lend your true evil self a helping a hand and get rid of this foul odor."_

_The red eyed robot raised his left hand and flexed his metallic fingers, making red sparks fly out of his hand. Then the sparks ignited into a very similar mist that was coming out of the ground. Only his mist was red instead of purple. He lowered his misting hand into the purple substance, and the two colors intertwined together. Circuit could hardly watch as her calming purple was fused with Klunk's blood red. And it was especially hard to watch when blotches of black appeared into the mix, it was a horrible sight for the creative type._

_Klunk retracted his hand from the mist and flexed his fingers once again._

_"Perfect."_

_The purple, red and black mist retreated back into the wound in the ground and the wound closed itself up, leaving nothing but the solid white surface it had been before._

_"What did you do? Why did you release a red mist into the purple mist? What is going to happen to me?" Circuit asked, stumbling towards Klunk with all the balance her body would provide._

_"Oh, there's no need to worry about that, dear sister," Klunk replied, waving her off._

_"Dear sister? Now I am your dear sister? You were kicking me in the face just a few minutes ago!" Circuit yelled, which surprised the red eyed robot._

_"I had to do that just in case you had changed your mind about becoming evil again. I didn't mean that much harm," Klunk obviously lied._

_"I am going to ask again, what is going to happen to me?"_

_"Well...let's just say that you're finally going to become who you are. And I'll be there for you."_

_"I do not understand."_

_"Oh, you'll understand soon enough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. But, before I leave, I want to ask what's wrong with your CPU? It looks a bit dreadful-"_

_"Get out of my mind! Get out now!" Circuit yelled, shoving Klunk, who threw her hands off. Then he slowly grabbed his machete and glanced at her one last time._

_"Suit yourself. Now, it's time for you to wake up. You and I have a whole new personality to try out!"_

_And with one swift movement, Klunk ran the machete through Circuit's torso, cutting her in half like she had done to him before. Circuit didn't have time to feel the pain of the blade cutting through her torso, as she was disconnected from Klunk almost immediately._

_'A new personality? What does he mean? What...what did he do to me?'_

* * *

Anger. That was the first and only thing that Circuit felt when she gained the tiniest bit of consciousness.

'What? What is this? Why am I so...so angry?' Circuit asked herself in her mind.

Her purple eyes burst open, but they didn't glow their usual calming was nothing calming about this glow. It was about as unsettling as Klunk's blood red eyes. And her eyes weren't even the right shade anymore. Instead of the usual violet, they were a rather nasty shade of byzantium (a fairly dark shade of purple).

As for her anger, she felt it rise as she fully gained consciousness. She has never been this angry before, what could she possibly be so irritated about?

A sudden voice inside her head suddenly answered her.

"The orange squishy he tells you what to do and what not to do. What right does he have to push you around like that? He thinks that he's superior. It's time to show the orange squishy who the real superior one is!"

Orange squishy? Was the voice talking about Ratchet?

Yes...yes he does seem to see himself as the superior one, even though he acts like that Circuit is equal to him. She wasn't about to stand by and be pushed around by...by a squishy! She would appear as a disgrace to the robot race if she continued to let that Lombax be the dominate one! This squishy needed to pay.

Circuit walked over to the desk near the other side of the room where she would usually out her jacket down on. She reached up to the very top of the desk and felt around for a moment. Then she located a leathery handle. She grabbed the handle and pulled her machete off of the desk. She observed its blade, imagining what the Lombax would say if he saw her with it. That is, if she gave him long enough to talk. And why should she? After all...

An evil robot kills first and asks questions later.

* * *

**Circuit is evil people! I repeat, Circuit has turned to the dark side! Vader has succeeded in converting Luke...er, I mean Klunk has succeeded in taking control of Circuit!**

**So yeah, chapters like these and the next few that are coming are the reasons why I put a T rating on this fic. Things can get pretty violent in this story.**

**And yes, I know that the majority of the chapter is in italics. I always have the Connection and dreams in italics.**

**Random but exciting news, according to my parents, they're gonna get me a PS4 during Black Friday this year...YAAAAAAY!**

**Also, I haven't updated this in awhile because I actually started a new R&amp;C fanfic. It's called "Little Brother". Clank takes a blow to the head and his wires become crossed after he and Ratchet are in a hoverbike crash, and now Clank thinks that he's a baby! Check out the story if you want to see how Ratchet (and Talwyn) handle the infant Clank. It's a really cute story, I assure you.**

**And, pardon me other readers, but I have a question for guest "Unknown user". I was a bit baffled by your review for Chapter 15 and I was wondering if you could explain what the purpose of the review is. I don't know if it was a suggestion for a line that I should have inserted into the chapter or if you were role-playing or something along those lines. I just need an explanation so I can understand the review better.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	25. Chapter 25

Circuit twirled her machete in her hand. Her back was against the wall of her bedroom as she awaited the voice in her head to speak again. Though she was ready to charge out there and kill and squishies that she sees. God how she hated those flesh covered sacks of meat, always running around thinking their lives are more important than a robot's. Disgusting creatures they are, she wished that everyone in the universe was a robot so she didn't have to see another squishy again.

All of this squishy rage was becoming too much for her, she was already beginning to forget about the voice in her head. She had to do it. She was a prisoner of the filthy furry squishy, but she wasn't going to stand being locked up in an apartment any longer. It was time to take back her freedom and show that Lombax squishy what for.

_"I know what you want to do. Well, what are you waiting for? Go and do it! Show that Lombax how superior robots are!"_ The voice in her head said.

An evil smile crawled onto Circuit's face for the first time ever. It was time for her to have a little fun.

_Knock knock knock!_

Several knocks came from the door, which made Circuit glare at it with annoyance. She heard a voice come through.

"Circuit? Are you alright? You have been in there for quite awhile, and I thought I heard you fall earlier."

The purple eyed robot flipped her hood up and flexed her fingers on her machete handle. Then she walked to the door slowly and opened it, only to find a robot instead of a squishy. The green eyed robot looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, there you are. What has taken you so long. Surely making a bed is not that much of a ta-..."

Circuit shoved the other little robot aside and walked out of the her bedroom. Then, without even acknowledging the green eyed robot's protests, she walked down the hallway and into the large living room. She looked around the place, also known as her prisoner. She had remembered when the squishy had ordered her to stay in this place and to never leave unless she is accompanied with someone. Who does that Lombax think he is acting as some sort of an authority figure? Well, she was going to let the squishy know exactly what she thought about all the new rules.

Speaking of the squishy...

"Hey, Circuit. Clank told me that you ran into your room after I discovered you two in my bedroom. Did I really embarrass you that badly?"

The (what Circuit thought to be) orange rodent strolled across the living room and into the doorway of the kitchen. How dare he tease her like that. Embarrass her? Him saying the last sentence alone was enough to make her angry. She tightened her grip on her machete and looked down at the ground a bit. The squishy looked at her with what appeared to be concern, then he kneeled down in front of her. He reached up and tried to remove her hood.

"Listen, if I really did embarrass you, I'm sorry. But...isn't kind of a dad's job to embarrass his daugh-AH!"

Circuit grasped Ratchet's wrist as hard as she could, making it so she was basically cutting off the blood flow to his hand. Ratchet grabbed her hand and tried to make her let go.

"Circuit! You're actually hurting me! Let go!"

"I cannot do that until I do this..." Circuit said with an emotionless voice, making Ratchet's eyes go wide. His eyes went even wider when the purple eyed robot help up her machete.

_"Let's see what this little girl can do. Come on sister, show me how evil you can be,"_ said the voice to himself.

Circuit raised her machete, and in one quick swipe, she made a clean cut into Ratchet's torso. A horizontal gash in his side started to bleed and stain his clothes, and the Lombax yelled in pain as he placed a hand on his wound.

"AHH! Circuit! Wh-what's wrong with you?! Why did you-AHHH!"

Another cut was sliced into his left arm. The blood coming out of the cut started flowing downwards into his glove, it was only a matter of time until it started overflowing. Ratchet fell over onto the floor, the blood from his torso cut spilling onto the ground.

Circuit wasn't done yet. No, one more cut and she'll be satisfied. And the face was perfectly opened since both of the Lombax's hands were on his side wound. So, she raised her machete, and prepared for strike.

But...something happened.

Time around her felt like it had slowed down greatly. She was slowly swinging her machete at Ratchet's face, but something didn't feel right. Then the voice in her head said something.

_"Well, I think I'll let you have the last swing at this."_

Suddenly, Circuit felt a lot different, and she was extremely confused. What had just happened? Why was she out in the living room instead of her bedroom? Did Ratchet bring her out here after she passed out due to The Connection with Klunk? And why was she holding her machete-

"AHHHH!"

Circuit watched as she swung her machete's blade across Ratchet's right cheek. Her eyes went extraordinarily wide. What in the world did she do? Why was she attacking Ratchet?!

Time went back to its normal speed, and Circuit stood above Ratchet, completely shocked. She observed the Lombax's body, he had been cut three times. She...she did this. The purple eyed robot started backing away from Ratchet. She did this. She attacked Ratchet with her own weapon. Klunk...Klunk was right about her! She really was evil! Only an evil robot would attack a nice person like Ratchet.

"Ratchet! Oh my goodness! What happened?!"

Circuit looked over her shoulder and saw Clank running out of his bedroom. He sprinted over to Ratchet and looked at his injuries. when he tried to touch one of the cuts, Ratchet would yell in pain, making both robots wince.

The little purple eyed robot couldn't believe what she had just done. She had cut Ratchet. She made Ratchet bleed. It was just too much for her.

_"What did I tell you?" Klunk said inside of her mind. "Look at what you've done to Ratchet! Look at what you've done to the person who took you in and treated you like a daughter! I told you that you were evil, but you didn't listen. You nearly killed the universe's greatest hero. And only an evil robot kills heroes..."_

Circuit nodded to herself. It must be true, she was an evil robot. She couldn't stay there any longer, she was a danger to Ratchet and Clank. She had to get as far away from the two as possible.

So, Circuit started backing up towards the door, the bloody machete still in her hand. But, she stopped when she heard a weak voice.

"Circuit...Circuit, don't go. It's alright," Ratchet said, looking at the purple eyed robot.

Clank looked at Circuit and immediately spotted the bloody machete in her hand. He shook his head in disbelief, this couldn't be possible. "No...y-you did this? You attacked Ratchet? Circuit, why...wh-why did..."

"I-I...I am sorry," Circuit said with tears in her eyes. Then, without a single look back, she bolted out of the apartment.

Ratchet saw her run out, and he tried to stand up and go after her. He reached an arm out towards the door "Circuit! No, come back! Circuit..."

But the injuries were too much for Ratchet, and he fell onto his knees and gripped the bloody wound on his side. Clank quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed a wet washcloth, then placed it on Ratchet's side wound. Then he tried helping Ratchet to the couch. However, Ratchet protested.

"Don't worry about me, Clank. Something's wrong with Circuit. You and I both know that she would never attack me...or anything for that matter! We have to go after her!"

"Ratchet, I am as every bit of concerned about Circuit as you are, but you are badly injured! She barely missed one of your organs with that cut in your torso. I want to go and find Circuit as quickly as you do, but we need to take care you you first. Besides, Circuit hardly knows the city of Metropolis and she has a fear of people that she does not know. She will not go far, I promise you," Clank said, trying his best to clean all of the blood out of Ratchet's fur without hurting him.

Ratchet rested his head against the back of the couch and looked at the door. His ears lowered "I don't care what anyone says, the robot who attacked me was not my little girl."

* * *

Circuit had ran quite a ways after leaving the apartment building. She didn't really know where she was going, but away from Ratchet and Clank was her only destination.

Eventually, she had found an abandoned alleyway that looked most comfortable for some odd reason. Something was drawing her towards this particular alley, and she had no idea what or why. So she walked a couple feet down into it until she found some sort of cardboard box sitting next to some piles of trash cans. She walked over to the box and flipped it over, then climbed into it and curled up into a little ball. She looked a like a little puppy who no one wanted to adopt.

'Wh-why did I attack R-Ratchet? Why a-am I-I evil? I am a monster!" Circuit yelled as she began crying into her jacket. She had promised herself from day one of her reactivation that she would be a good robot. Well, look at her now, nearly murdering her father figure. She guessed that evil oil really did flow through her robotic veins, and her attempts to be a good robot were foolish from the start.

But, now that she realized that she really was evil, what does she do now? The answer unfortunately came very quickly.

The sound of footsteps was heard and Circuit knew that they were coming towards her by the volume of them. They sounded like they had stopped in front of the box that she was curled up in. So she looked up from her position to see who was there.

"There-there my little creation. Soon all the pain will go away, and you will truly embrace your evil side," Nefarious said as he looked down at the little frightened robot.

"You are Doctor Nefarious..." Circuit said, feeling her heart racing.

"That's right. I created you six years ago, and I unfortunately lost you after the fall of my Biobliterator. But now I have the chance to be with you once more, without trying to blow you up so I can kill that STUPID, IGNORANT LOMBAX! Now then, let's hurry up and get out of here before the Metropolis Police notices that I'm here. Come along, Error. I'm gonna have you ditch that moronic 'Circuit' name by the way, your name is Error now."

"Um...I uh...I do not want to...uh," Circuit said, unable to find words to describe her response to the whole situation.

"I'm sorry? What was that? Are you saying that you don't want to come with me?" Nefarious said, tapping Circuit's antennae.

Suddenly, Circuit was overcome by the urge to go with Nefarious. She didn't know why she was suddenly feeling this way, it felt as though she was not herself for a moment, like someone else had taken over. But she found herself climbing out of the cardboard box and following Nefarious out of the alleyway. Nefarious looked over his shoulder and at her.

"Don't let me forget to get your brother some grease pudding. Because, after all he's done and gone through in the past few hours, he's going to be demanding a lot of it. Your brother drives me INSANE!"

Circuit didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She was following her insane evil creator to who knows where, and she didn't know why.

Was this it? Was Circuit leaving behind all the good that she promised and going for a life of crime? Was she never going to see Ratchet and Clank again?

She guessed that all the answers were yes. From this day forward, she guessed that she was going to be known as Circuit...er, Error...

Error the evil robot.

* * *

**Poor Circuit, she thinks that she attacked Ratchet on her own. I like Klunk, but I really made him an evil little sh*t, didn't I? Then again, he did almost blow up an entire galaxy in Secret Agent Clank...**

**Oh, and I nearly forgot, DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN! Nefarious has forced Circuit to turn over to his side! How will the little robot do as a villain? We won't know...I mean, you won't know until the next few chapters.**

**Oh, and I updated Little Brother yesterday in case some of you didn't know.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	26. Chapter 26

_Ratchet laid on the cold hard ground, the cuts in his torso, arm and face were stinging. His opened wounds were pouring out blood and forming a large puddle around him. If he was bleeding at that rate, then he would be did in a short time, which made the Lombax panic a little._

_The Lombax's ear twitched as he heard the sound of someone crying. Since he didn't really have the strength to stand or even sit up, he lifted his head and looked around. He quickly located Circuit standing right in front of him, she was wiping her eye are tears poured out of them. And right in front of her feet was a bloody machete._

_"I did this. I hurt you. I am a bad robot," she cried._

_"No, Circuit, it's alright. That couldn't have been you who attacked me. You would never hurt me or anything."_

_"I am a bad robot. I cannot stay with you anymore. I am leaving forever and I am never coming back. Goodbye, Ratchet," Circuit said, turning around and walking away._

_"Circuit! No, Circuit, don't go! It wasn't your fault! Something must be wrong with you, and we can find out what! Circuit! Circuit, come back!" Ratchet yelled, trying to reach a hand out towards her. But, unfortunately, Ratchet found himself being unable to move his body. No matter how hard he tried, he could not go after Circuit._

_The little robot looked back at Ratchet, then turned around and continued walking away. Until, eventually, she faded away into the darkness. There was not a trace of her left._

_Ratchet gritted his teeth and tried his best to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. Then he cried out-_

"CIRCUIT!"

Ratchet shot straight upwards and reached his hand out to where he thought Circuit was. However, he found himself reaching out towards the apartment wall, which made his ears droop. He had just had a nightmare. He didn't remember the last time he had a nightmare. The feeling that he was experiencing was horrible. He felt so...depressed. And Circuit had once told him that she had nightmares all the time. So this is what she felt like all the time? Thinking about Circuit being depressed made Ratchet's ears droop even lower.

After getting his head together, Ratchet observed his body. He was surprised to see that his arm and torso were wrapped in gauze, and they were a bit stained with blood. The cut on his cheek felt fine probably because it wasn't as deep as the other two. Ratchet suspected that Clank had tended to his wounds but...when did he fall asleep? He didn't remember laying down on the couch to and falling asleep.

"Ratchet?"

The Lombax nearly jumped out of his fur as Clank suddenly appeared next to him. He looked down at the little robot, wanting to know one thing, "Clank, did Circuit come back? Do you know where she is?"

"After I put you to sleep with Cryo-Sleep gas, I immediately contacted the Metropolis Police Force and told them about Circuit. They are on the lookout for her as we speak."

"Wait, you knocked me out with Cryo-Sleep gas? Why?"

"You would not stop complaining about the pain I was causing when I was trying to tend to your wounds. So I figured that having you asleep would make my job much easier."

"Right, right. Well, thanks pal. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find Circuit, then kick whoever made her attack me_ right in the_-"

"Ratchet, you should not be moving around. Your body still needs to recover. Those machete cuts were very deep, and you lost quite a bit of blood. I will go out and look for Circuit, you need to stay here and rest," Clank said as Ratchet stood up.

"I don't care that my body is in bad shape! I don't care that I have deep cuts! I wouldn't care is half my bones were broken! Hell, I wouldn't care if all of my bones were broken! Circuit is out there, alone and scared, surrounded by people that she doesn't know! And I'll be damned if I don't go out there and help find her!" Ratchet shouted, grabbing a some clothes that Clank had put out for when he woke up.

"...You are right. It was foolish of me to tell you to stay here," Clank said, feeling a bit disappointed in himself.

"Yes it was. And, I gotta say, you seem awfully chill. Do you not see all the problems that we're facing? Circuit is missing! Why aren't you upset?!" Ratchet yelled, putting on his shirt.

"Well, Ratchet, I...I have tried my best to stay calm in this whole situation because I knew that you would need comforting. I have been forcing myself to be strong for you ever since last night. But seeing you hurt and having no idea where Circuit is, I cannot...I-I just...I-I...I am sorry..." Clank said, placing a fist on his forehead, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Ratchet, who was absolutely surprised that Clank had started crying, couldn't help but think that the whole scene looked very familiar. Then, something flashed before his eyes.

_"I-I...I am sorry," Circuit said with tears in her eyes. Then, without a single look back, she bolted out of the apartment._

Without thinking, Ratchet lunged forward and grabbed Clank by the shoulders, lifting him off the ground a little.

"Don't you dare apologize! And don't you dare force yourself to bottle up you emotions for the sake of me! That is the last thing that I want! Watching Circuit run out that door was a blow to the chest for both of us! So we're gonna hurt together! And we're going to relieve this pain together by finding her!"

Clank wanted Ratchet's words to motivate him to stop crying. But, the pain was just too much for him at the moment. It was alright though, he knew that Ratchet was going through the same pain that he was. Ratchet must have known that Clank's crying was failing to seize, because he pulled the little robot into a tight hug, allowing the robot to cry into his shirt. As Clank sobbed, Ratchet stroked the back of his head comfortingly. Then he said quietly,

"You haven't been strong since last night, pal. You've been strong since the very beginning."

* * *

Circuit reluctantly followed Doctor Nefarious out of the spacecraft that he had brought her in. They had been flying for several hours, and she had no idea where they were now. She wasn't exactly good with planets yet, and the only ones that she knew of were Kerwan, Pokitaru and Lumos.

The planet seemed like a nice place though. When they had flown over the area, Circuit had seen forests, mountains and even a large body water. Maybe it was an ocean like the one on Pokitaru?

Circuit was behind Nefarious, her hands behind her back, and her head tilted slightly downwards. She wondered how Ratchet was doing. With the cuts that she had left him with, he was probably all bandaged up and in recovery. The whole scene haunted her memory, and she knew that it would never go away. She knew that she had a whole new batch of nightmares coming her way, and no one will be there to comfort her.

Nefarious turned around and looked down at Circuit, which frightened the little robot a bit.

"Now then, we're going to get to my secret lair soon. But, since I don't exactly know if those two are tracking your location or not, I'm going to have to shut you off until we get there. I don't want an orange rodent and his talking backpack running around my place. Now come here so I can drain the life out of you!"

Circuit winced as Nefarious's sharp claw-like fingers grasped her back. She struggled a bit as she was lifted into the air, and jumped when she saw two beady red eyes staring at her. An evil grin formed on Nefarious's face.

"Nighty night!"

A large surge of electricity traveled through Circuit's body, which made her scream in pain. But, soon everything went dark. And she actually wanted it to stay that way.

**? Hours Later**

The feeling of being kicked multiple times stirred Circuit out of her unconscious state. She could feel the surface beneath her: cold and hard. It was either metal or ice. She went with metal because it didn't look like ice could stay intact with the planet's temperature. But why was she laying on metal.

The kicking suddenly started again, making Circuit opened her eyes and look up. Though she was a bit weak after being electrocuted, she managed to move her head and she saw exactly who she predicted that she would see.

"Well good afternoon. Have a nice nap? So, you decided to come after all...or did Nefarious have to drag you by the hood of your jacket?" Klunk asked, crossing his arms. his blood red eyes looking down at Circuit's calming purple ones.

"I...came here voluntarily," Circuit quietly, sitting up and rubbing her left arm.

"Oh? And what about the Lombax and that worthless piece of tin?"

"I will...I will no longer be seeing them. I left them. I...I am evil now."

"Hehehehe! Excellent! Now this is a sister that I can live with! Now I bet you're wondering where you are right now. I am forbidden to tell you what planet we're on just in case you decide to contact those two. But, I can tell you that you're in Nefarious's real secret lair, the one at Pegasus Outpost was just a temporary one. And this room is your cell...er, room."

"My room...?" Circuit said as she looked around. It was just a windowless room made of metal. "I think that 'cell' is the proper terminology, actually."

"Well, it's still a room isn't it? And I think that you should be a bit more grateful! We could have made you sleep outside!" Klunk said, pointing to the cell's door.

"I uh...I guess you are right. I mean, I got a bed..." Circuit said, looking at a cot that was set up at the edge of the room. It was just a small got with a blanket and a pillow. But no stuffed animal or anything to cuddle, which made Circuit a bit sad. "So...what do I do now?"

"Just stay in here until further notice. And try moving around as little as possible, make sure that you conserve a lot of energy."

"A lot of energy? What do I need a lot of energy for?"

"You'll see tomorrow. So go and take a nap or something. I'll be back if anyone needs you or if I get really, really bored," Klunk said, turning around and walking over to the cell's door. But he stopped and looked over his shoulder, "Trust me, Error. You will soon see how wonderful it is being evil." And with that, Klunk exited the room and close the door behind him, locking it.

Circuit just sat there, staring at the door. How wonder it is to be evil...is being evil really that wonderful? Will she like being evil after all? Klunk had made it sound like that she was destined to discover the wonders of being a villain. But will she? It's not like there was any way to back out at that point. She was with Nefarious and Klunk now, her new Ratchet and Clank. But she had to say, Ratchet and Clank offered much nicer hospitality.

So, completely ignoring the cot that was set up for her, Circuit simply went into the corner and sat down. Thinking about what would happen to her in the next few days. She also thought about how she was going to sleep tonight, knowing that no one was going to be there for her if she had nightmares.

The life of a bad robot was a very lonely one.

* * *

**This chapter of Violet Eyes is brought to you by "In Your Past" from the Sword Art Online Soundtrack. Seriously, I listened to it the whole time I was writing this. This music inspired the conversation between Ratchet and Clank.**

**So I'm going camping for nine days in about two weeks, so I'm actually trying to finish this story before I leave. The campground doesn't have Wi-Fi and my computer doesn't have Open Office or anything like that.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	27. Chapter 27

As the endless lonely hours slowly went by, Circuit's face was empty of emotion as her head laid on the wall of her room/cell. So far, no one had come to see or get her, so that meant that no one needed her. It also meant that Klunk wasn't really, really bored. So, as Circuit remained alone with no one wanting her, she thought about what Ratchet and Clank were doing. She was still wondering how Ratchet was doing since she attacked him. No doubt he was in a lot of pain. And no doubt that he didn't want her to come back after what she did. However, something in the back of Circuit's head was telling her that that wasn't true. And that something in the back of her head kept repeating:

_"Circuit...Circuit, don't go. It's alright."_

Ratchet had begged Circuit not to leave, even after she had injured him. So...maybe Ratchet did want her to come back. But she couldn't. She nearly killed the person who took her in and treated her like family. So it wasn't matter of Ratchet forgiving her, but a matter of Circuit forgiving herself, and she could never do that. But Circuit also wondered if Clank will ever forgive her. The look on his face when he discovered that Circuit had attacked Ratchet made her chest hurt. It was a mixture of shock, sadness...and anger. How could Clank forgive her after she had injured his best friend? She still remembered what he had said after he saw her bloody machete.

_"No...y-you did this? You attacked Ratchet? Circuit, why...wh-why did..."_

Circuit hadn't even bothered to let Clank finished his sentence because the tone of his voice was too painful to listen to. So she had just apologized and ran away, not knowing what to do.

And here was was, sitting in an evil lair on some unknown planet, now knowing what to do or who to trust. But, no matter how far away she was, no matter what she has done, she couldn't help but greatly miss Ratchet and Clank.

Several minutes passed, and as Circuit was somewhat wallowing in misery, the door to her cell opened. She didn't bother turning her head to see who it was, the small 'klunks' gave it away fairly quickly.

"Come, Error. There is a can of oil for you in the kitchen area," said Klunk's voice.

"I am not hungry," Circuit said, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them.

"It wasn't a request. Get up and eat something, we need you to be at full power for tomorrow," the red eyed robot said with irritation.

"I am sorry, but I do not wish to go anywhere. I would like some time to myself."

"You've spent five hours by yourself!"

"Then I need more time. I am going through a lot at the moment."

Klunk was becoming very impatient then. He grabbed Circuit by the hoodie and pulled her face up to his.

"I'm going to tell you one more time. Get off of your depressed ass and go eat something!"

"...I am sorry. But as I told you before, I am not hungry," Circuit said, trying not to look her brother in the eye.

"FINE!" Klunk yelled, throwing Circuit down onto the ground. "Go ahead and starve! See if I care! At this rate you'll end up dead!"

"You are saying that like it is a bad thing..." the purple eyed robot said, pushing herself off the ground.

Klunk didn't say anything after that. He simply gave Circuit a nasty glare, then turned around and stormed out of the room. Circuit gave a small sad sigh then walked back over to her corner. She did jump a little when her cell door slammed shut due to Klunk's rage. It was strange how angry he had gotten when he had told her that she wasn't hungry. Was he showing actual concern? No, no that was impossible. Klunk didn't care about Circuit one bit. He didn't see her as his 'dear sister', he saw her as some sort of prisoner that he could torment as much as he pleased.

Circuit still wondered what Klunk meant by 'full power'. Full power for what? No doubt he and Nefarious were planning on using her for something, that was probably why they had taken her. But what did they want her to do. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. And, being a villain, Circuit didn't expect to be good. She very much expected it to be very bad for the good people in the universe. And soon she would be apart of that very bad thing. If only she knew what she was going to be apart of so she could prepare herself. Circuit guessed that it was only a matter of time before she found out. And she also guessed that Ratchet and Clank would be very disappointed in her.

* * *

Ratchet and Clank walked tiredly down the sidewalk of downtown Metropolis, wanting nothing more than a nice warm bed.

They had been on their feet for nearly fourteen hours at that point, not stopping to eat or use the restroom. They had spent the entire day asking people who passed by them if they had seen or heard of a 'purple eyed Clank'. Unfortunately, everyone that they had asked said no. One person even called them crazy and that there was no such thing as a purple eyed Clank. Clank had to restrain Ratchet when the Lombax had tried to punch that person (mostly because it was Clank himself who wanted to punch the person). When he had finally calmed Ratchet down, the Lombax reluctantly apologized to the man and they continued their search. When they had reached the fourteen hour mark, Ratchet decided to check in with the Metropolis Police to see if there were any sightings of Circuit.

The two arrived at the police station and quickly entered. There was a police bot sitting at the front desk who was going through several papers. Ratchet and Clank walked up to them with both hopeful and miserable faces.

"Any sign of her?" Ratchet asked the bot.

The police bot went through several papers on his desk and shook his head "Mmmm...no. No sign of the purple eyed Clank, or 'Circuit', anywhere in the south or east side of Metropolis. I don't have the reports from the officers searching the west and north side yet, so there's still hope."

"Circuit has no knowledge of this city, she could not possibly have gone too far from our apartment building," Clank said, trying to look at the officer (the desk was very tall).

"Well apparently she has if it's this hard to find her." The officer noticed the exhausted and sad looks on the duo's faces. "Listen, you two have been out all day looking for her. Why don't you go home and I'll call you when those last two reports come in?"

"Uh, yeah, no. I'm not gonna rest until I know that Circuit is safe," Ratchet said, folding his arms angrily.

"Ratchet, perhaps he is right. We have been out all day. I do not want to stop searching for Circuit either, but we must rest sooner or later. You need to eat and my servos need to rest badly. Do not forget, there are still officers out there looking for her, so it is not like that us taking a break means that no one will be searching for Circuit," Clank said, pulling on Ratchet's pant leg.

Ratchet was about to reject what Clank had told him, but then he noticed how exhausted the little robot was. He was barely standing and his eyes were drooping, no doubt he needed to give his battery a charge. The Lombax lowered his ears, then unfolded his arms after realizing how tired he himself was. He nodded "Alright, we'll turn in for the night. But we're getting up early tomorrow so we can keep searching."

"I have absolutely no objection over that. I will get up as early as my battery will let me."

"Good," Ratchet said. Then he glanced at the police bot "Call us the second you get those last two reports."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Come on Clank, let's go home."

The little robot nodded and attempted to follow Ratchet out of the police station. However, due to his tired servos and low battery, he could only make it a few steps before falling to his knees. He was too tired to keep walking.

Ratchet walked over to Clank and tried to help him back up, but the robot just kept falling back down. Having no other choice, Ratchet picked his friend up and let him rest in his arms. Clank was very grateful, but he fell asleep before he could say thank you. The Lombax smiled as the little robot fell asleep, but then he frowned. A little silver robot asleep in his arms like a little kid...like a certain little kid. Ratchet tried to shake the thought out of his head. He had to remember, this was Clank, not Circuit. Circuit was missing, so he couldn't be holding her. This was his best friend, not his daughter.

Ratchet sighed when he thought of the word 'daughter'. He had to admit, he missed being called daddy.

* * *

"Daddy..." Circuit mumbled in her sleep. She was laying on the cot that she was supposed to call her bed. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was much better than the metal floor. She had fallen asleep after laying on the cot for a few minutes, she hadn't realized how tired she was. At the moment, she was in the middle of a dream that appeared a bit fuzzy. All she could really see was Ratchet in the distance. And no matter how far she ran towards him, she could never get to him.

'Clang!'

Circuit jumped a little as some sort of noise awoke her from her slumber. Her vision was a bit blurry, so she rubbed her eyes to regain her clear vision. She didn't really like it when her slumber was interrupted. Maybe she was inheriting Ratchet's habit of sleeping in. She looked around her to see what made the noise that woke her up. She looked down and quickly located something next to her cot.

A can of oil.

Circuit reached down and picked it up. It was very high quality oil, no doubt that it was expensive. But who sent her this can of oil? The little robot jumped again when the door to her cell closed. She wasn't able to see who had sent her the food, but the sound of klunking footsteps gave her a pretty big hint.

* * *

S**orry for the kinda short chapter, I was in a rush to finish this.**

**Also, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. My brother finally let me use his PS3 for the first time in months and I finally got to play Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. That game was SO. MUCH. FUN. The Plasma Whip has to be my favorite weapon (besides the RY3NO of course). Hopefully I'll save enough money to buy Tools of Destruction and Crack in Time (not gonna play Quest for Booty).**

**Welp, I leave for a nine day camping trip on Saturday. I'm gonna try and fit in as many updates as I can (which is difficult because Band Camp started today and I have to attend that for two hours all this week).**

**Oh, and I made a mistake with Circuit's age. Circuit is eight years old, not six. Just thought I'd let y'all know.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus signing off!**


	28. Chapter 28

Circuit awoke as she felt someone kicking her back. And by the feeling of the feet and how hard the kicks were, she could guess who the kicker was. Sure enough, when she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw those familiar blood red eyes piercing her soul. What did he want this time?

"Get up, it's morning, and Doctor Nefarious is requesting your presence," Klunk said, placing his fists on his waist.

"Why must you kick me in order to wake me up?" Circuit asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes and also adjusting her jacket. She had worn her jacket to bed and she hadn't even bothered to cover up with the blanket that was provided for her.

"Because it's fun. Now come on, Doctor Nefarious isn't a patient robot, and neither am I."

Klunk kicked Circuit in the back one more time (which mace Circuit's eyes narrow in an angry position) before hopping down onto the floor. He walked across the room and stopped at the door. He placed his hands behind his back and gave his sister an impatient look. Circuit swung her legs over the side of the cot and dropped to the floor. Her knees buckled and she almost fell down. But thankfully, her legs steadied themselves, and she stood up straight. She noticed the empty can of oil next to her bed. She had drank the oil after it was delivered to her because her (evil) brother had taken the time to grab it and bring it to her. The memory nearly brought a smile to her face, but her smile was destroyed by the look Klunk was giving her. Circuit nodded and walked over to him. He "rolled his eyes".

"God, does it always take you this long to get up and at it in the morning? You must have drove that furball crazy."

"Ratchet never seemed to mind..." Circuit said quietly.

"Well, you're not with him anymore. You're with the bad guys now. And we bad guys get up bright and early so we can consult our evil plans. Speaking of evil plans," Klunk turned around and led Circuit out of the room, "you're about to be introduced to ours."

"You and Mr. Nefarious have an evil plan?" Circuit asked with her head tilted

"Doctor Nefarious. He didn't go to evil medical school to be called 'mister'...at least, I think he went to evil medical school. He's never actually told me. Has he told you?" The purple eyed robot shook her head. "Huh...I'll have to ask him some time because I am legitimately curious now."

Circuit looked at Klunk weirdly as he talked. He wasn't sounding very evil at the moment, and he wasn't spitting insults at her. Klunk sounded like that he was trying to strike up an actual conversation with her. However, something was telling her that she should just keep her mouth shut and let Klunk do all the talking he wanted. She was a bit nervous to say anything ...she kind of liked Klunk when he was like this. She liked it when he didn't sound like he was a bad robot. It made him a bit more like Clank. But, if she ever told him that, he would most likely beat her up, she knew that Klunk hated Clank. So she wasn't going to remind Klunk about she did have a question about something concerning Clank...

"So...why were you...er, we modeled after Clank?"

"What did you just ask me?" Klunk said, stopping and turning around.

Circuit flinched, raising her hands up defensively, she knew that she shouldn't have opened her mouth. "I...I..."

"No, seriously, what did you just ask me? I wasn't listening. Have a tendency to not give a crap about what girls are saying."

"Well...I uh...n-nothing...I did not ask you anything."

Klunk squinted his eyes, which made Circuit very nervous, but she relaxed when he just shrugged and continued leading her down the hallway. After what felt like forever and what felt like a maze of hallways and corridors, the two were heading towards the end of a particular long and dark hallway. Neither of the two had said a thing since the earlier (sort of) conversation. Circuit guessed that Klunk didn't want to talk to her anymore. He would hardly even look at her. And when he did look at her, he was only checking to see if she was still following him. Circuit couldn't even think about running, she would be caught in no time. She wasn't very fast (to taller people at least).

The two robots reached the end of the dark corridor. Klunk opened the door that was there and nodded Circuit inside. Circuit nervously and slowly stepped through the door and entered a dimly lit room. Her eyes were quickly drawn to a glowing white light in the middle of the room. It was coming from some sort of circular pad. And she located two odd cylinders above the glowing pad. What in the world was going on here? What were they planning to do with her?

"Spooky looking when it's like this, isn't it?" Doctor Nefarious said, making Circuit nearly jump out of her metal skin. The robot doctor flipped on the lights, making the room much brighter. "Ah, I love it when strange and evil looking machines are revealed in a poorly lit room. It has a real dramatic effect."

Circuit could have sworn that she heard Klunk facepalm behind her.

"Anyway, dramatic effects aside, we have a job for her to do, so I think that you should explain everything so we can get started," Klunk said, pushing Circuit forward.

"Yeah yeah! You're even bossier than I am," Nefarious said, folding his arms. "Now then, Error. You see that weird looking machine over there? We're going to use that so you can use that power of yours to power my weapon."

"What? My power? A-A weapon?" Circuit said with both nervousness and confusion.

"See? What did I tell you? This girl is deaf!" Klunk said, pointing his hands out towards Circuit.

"Quiet you. Yes Error, we know about that little power of yours. The one that made the Lombax's weapon upgrade. And don't think about playing dumb, because we have you on video! You used that flaming Omniwrench to get to your rat friend, and then he nearly killed Klunk!"

"That fireball really did hurt, that jackass," Klunk said, feeling his face.

"Okay, so you want me to use my power to upgrade some sort of weapon? But...wh-what is the weapon?" Circuit asked, getting a bit angry when Klunk called Ratchet a jackass.

"Well, I was going to keep it from you, but what the heck? Besides, you don't remember it, but the weapon we're constructing had actually been built once, and you were alive when we made it the first time."

"But I have never been dead before. I have just been unconscious for a long period of time," the female robot said.

"Dead, alive, unconscious, conscious, WHATEVER! Anyway! The weapon we are building is one of my own design. I call it the Biobliterator Two...Point Five!"

"Oh my god, he actually decided to call it that," Klunk said, pinching where the bridge of his nose would be.

"No one asked for you opinion you little trash can!" Nefarious yelled, making Circuit flinch.

"The Biobliterator 2.5? What does it do?" Circuit asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like it does! It obliterates bios!" The two little robots stared at the evil doctor in confusion (Klunk looked like he was done with everything). "...It turns organics into robots! There, is that better?"

"I still think very little of you, so...no," Klunk said, folding his arms.

Nefarious gave a frustrated grunt and walked forward, angrily grabbing Klunk's antennae and lifting him into the air. There red eyes met each other in an angry eye lock.

"You better shut your mouth, or I will personally put you in a scrap compressor!"

"Hmph," The little red eyed robot turned his head away from Nefarious. The insane robot threw Klunk down onto the floor, making him land roughly on his back.

This little fight made Circuit a bit frightened. Everything seemed to be frightening her. Doctor Nefarious and Klunk's presence, the isolated room, the weird machine, everything. And this Biobliterator that Nefarious had told her about, it turned organics into robots? That sounded...awful. And they were going to use her powers to help build it? She was extraordinarily tempted to back out, because this was pushing her comfort zones. She may be evil, but even villains have their limits. Dr. Nefarious must have noticed Circuit's nervousness, because he walked behind her and kicked her forward.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's get this over with so our plan can move along. Get on that glowing white pad."

Circuit obeyed and walked over to the pad. It was only half a foot tall, so she could easily step onto it. When she placed her foot on it, she could feel the warmth coming from the light. It was actually a nice feeling, like she was standing on a box full of warm towels. However, once she looked up and saw the strange cylinders, her good feeling went away. Something about the two cylinders made her feel very uncomfortable. She wondered what they were for.

Unfortunately, there purpose was for something that Circuit didn't like.

Dr. Nefarious grabbed Circuit's arms, and she felt a magnetic pull yanking her hands forwards. Her palms stuck to the end of the cylinders, and she couldn't pull them off. Also, the magnets were a bit too high from the pad, and Circuit was forced to stand on the tips of her feet. This whole thing was a new level of discomfort for the female robot.

"Now, Error! Release your power into the Biobliterator, and put my-no, OUR plan into motion! Mwuhahahahaha!"

...

...

...

"...Any day now, Error!"

"I cannot," Circuit said quietly.

"What?!" Nefarious said with a confused and angry look.

"You see, I can only upgrade weapons when I am experiencing a large amount of fear. It is like some sort of defense mechanism. That is why I upgraded Ratchet's Omniwrench, because I was scared that people I love were going to die."

"Oh...well, what are you scared of?"

"Heights, nightmares, I have the tiniest fear of bugs-"

"Someone get me a cockroach or something!" Nefarious screamed into the air.

But, Klunk put a hand into the air. He looked up at Nefarious. "No no, Nefarious. I think that I can handle this."

The little male robot walked over to where Circuit was being held. Circuit could see the look in his blood red eyes, he had something to say to her, and something told her that it wasn't a good thing. Klunk placed his hands behind his back and paced back in forth in front of Circuit.

"Well well, Error, you have been through quite a lot, haven't you? How do you like it here, anyway?"

"Well, it is not exactly a cozy place," the female robot replied.

"I cannot help but agree. I bet that your old home was much nicer. You know, speaking of your old home, let's talk about what made you leave that place." Klunk noticed that Circuit pulled on her magnetic restraints a little. It was already working. "You were simply standing there, Ratchet was right in front of you, telling you about your relationship with him, and then WHAM! You attacked the poor Lombax."

"Shut up..." Circuit said quietly.

"I saw the whole thing in your mind. He was bleeding pretty badly. And how strange is it that he hasn't contacted you in any way? I wonder why that is?"

"I said shut up," the female robot said, starting to shake.

"You know, he was bleeding pretty badly. And that cur to the torso might have hit a vital organ. Bleeding badly, no contact...hm. It's almost like he's dead."

_Dead._

_Dead._

_Dead._

Circuit's eyes widened. She had never considered that possibility. She had injured Ratchet fairly badly, no doubt he lost a lot of blood. But, was it actually enough to kill him. Was...was her father figure dead? No...no he couldn't be! But, there was still a chance. There was a chance that she had murdered Ratchet! That meant no one to hold her, no one to love her, no one to comfort her, and no one to save her from this nightmare.

"No! NO! He cannot be dead! He cannot be dead! Ratchet! RATCHET! I AM SCARED, RATCHET!" Circuit screamed as tears streamed down her face. The white pad below her turned into a light shade of purple, and the same color pulsed through the cylinders.

Klunk brushed his hands off, "I may have broken her a little, but at least she spewing out the power juice...and I now realize how wrong that sounded."

Dr. Nefarious clapped his hands "Bravo Klunk, you cracked her like a nut. I despise you a little less now."

"Thank you, Nefarious...I still think very little of you, though," Klunk said, walking upside the evil doctor.

"Ugh, nevermind, I hate you fully again." Dr. Nefarious walked forward a little and watched the miserable little purple eyed robot struggle in her position. Everything was going according to plan. It was moments like this when he just wanted to unleash an hour straight evil laugh. But his mechanical vocal cords probably wouldn't be able to handle that. "Yes! Let it out! Give me your energy so I can finally conquer a universe with absolutely no squishies! Long live the Age of Robots! Mwuhahahahahahaha!"

Circuit squirmed as she heard Dr. Nefarious laugh. She was giving off so much energy that she would pass out at any moment. So, with all the voice left her conscious state, she let out one last tear filled scream.

"DADDY!"

* * *

**Well...that was brutal.**

**This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I wanted to get this up before I went to bed, so it turned out shorter. But all content that was supposed to be in this chapter will move over to next chapter.**

**By the way, I posted the new Weekly Oneshot (that's a thing now, roll with it) last Thursday. It's called "The Real Ratchet", I think y'all should check it out. I don't know what this week's Weekly Oneshot is going to be about, but it's probably going to be a Ratchet and Clank brotherly love kind of thing.**

**And this fic is almost at 100 reviews! Just three more until those triple digits! Cooper, ArtSmart, Guardian, I know that I can count on you guys for reviews, so LET'S GO! (WHY AM I SHOUTING OR IMPLEMENTING THAT I'M SHOUTING BY PUTTING THIS IN ALL CAPS?!)**

**Make sure to leave a review (Three more, come on guys, just THREE MORE!) while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	29. Chapter 29

"DADDY!"

Ratchet's eyes burst wide open and his ears twitched fiercely. It...it was her. He heard her! He knew that voice anywhere! She came home! The Lombax quickly got out of bed, ignoring the fact that his sudden movements had startled Clank so badly that the little robot fell to the floor. Ratchet yanked open the bedroom door and rushed into the hallway, running into the wall as he ran. He ran into the living room and looked around.

"Circuit?!"

Ratchet ran to the other side of the living room and looked around some more. No sign of her. Where could she be?

The Lombax's answer came as quickly as the question. He ran out the apartment door, running into the hallway wall again. He ran down the hallways and stumbled up the staircase that was at the end. He nearly crashed into the door at the top, and he ran into the cold night air. The sky was dotted with sparkling stars, but Ratchet didn't notice them. He ran to the center of the roof and looked around, hoping to see the purple eyed robot that he longed to find. However...he found himself to be completely alone. There was no sign of Circuit. Ratchet shook his head. He heard her, she just had to be around! She had to be! Maybe she was hiding? Yes...yes that was it! She was scared about hurting Ratchet, so he just needed to call for her.

Ratchet put his hands up to his mouth and called out, "Circuit! Circuit, where are you?! I know you're here! You have to be here! I-I heard you! Please come out! Circuit!"

The only response the he received was a few chirps from a lone cricket sitting on a roof flower petal. A chilly breeze swept by, making Ratchet's ears and tail flap around gracefully. Still no sign of her. The Lombax shook his head again, he needed to try harder.

"Circuit! You don't have to hide! Just come to me, I'm right here! Daddy's right here, Circuit!"

"You are here, Ratchet. But Circuit is not."

Ratchet turned around and saw the sleep deprived face of Clank. The Lombax gritted his teeth when he heard the robot's statement. He was wrong! He knew that Circuit was around somewhere, and he was going to prove it. He glared angrily at the robot.

"Sh-Shut up! What the hell do you know?! I heard her call me! I know she's here! I know it!"

"Ratchet...she is not here."

"Yes. She. Is!"

"You are letting your denial take over your mind. Ratchet, if Circuit was here, I would be detecting her signal right now. And there are no signals coming from this roof. She is not here, Ratchet. You need to accept that."

"I'll throw you off this damn roof if you don't shut up!" Ratchet said, tears burning in his eyes.

"Ratchet, listen to me! Circuit is not here! We promised each other that we would share the pain of losing Circuit together, but I never agreed to exploiting the pain! Listen to yourself, Ratchet! You are starting to lose yourself! Get a grip and accept the fact that Circuit is still missing!"

Clank was startled when Ratchet angrily walked over to him and roughly grasped the back of his torso. He lifted him into the air and brought him close to his face, their green eyes meeting, and soon locking.

"The day that I accept that Circuit it gone is the day that I regret wanting to murder you right now."

"Ratchet, please, listen to yourself! This is not you! You just told me that you want to murder me! Please, Ratchet, I am begging you! Come to your senses before you do something that you will regret!" Clank pleaded, wanting his friend to go back to normal. Circuit's continued absence was no doubt making the Lombax go crazy. He had to pull his friend out of his trance. So he said the one thing that could trigger anything in the Lombax. "What would Circuit think about your behavior right now? Would she continue calling you her father if you kept acting like this? Ratchet, snap out of it! Snap out of it for Circuit! Snap out of it for your daughter!"

"..." Ratchet's feet slowly slid apart and he fell to his knees, not saying a word. He lowered Clank to the ground and released him, his hands falling to his side. The large ears on his head were as low as they could go. Then he spoke in a very quiet tone. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Clank...I never meant to threaten you..."

"I know, Ratchet," Clank said, rubbing the back of his shoulder. Ratchet's grip had been fairly tough.

"I was so ready to see Circuit again that I didn't want anyone telling me that she was gone. Her absence is slowly making me go insane. And the fact that the last two police reports came up with no sightings didn't help. I..I don't get, Clank. Where did she go?"

"I do not get it either. But words cannot describe how worried I am about Circuit. It is almost like she just disappeared into thin air."

"Oh dear god, please don't say that!" Ratchet said, placing his head in his hands.

"Sorry! I am sorry! I just realized how bad that sounded! I am so sorry!"

"It's okay, Clank, calm down. Everyone...everyone makes mistakes...yeah," Ratchet mumbled.

The two sat there for quite awhile, the sound of late night hovercar drivers filled the atmosphere. They had no idea what to do next. All four police reports had turned up completely empty. They were slowly having to face the painful truth: Circuit was most likely gone forever.

"...I miss her so much," Ratchet and Clank said in unison.

"But what are we supposed to do? The Metropolis Police Department searched everywhere," Clank said with a sad look on his face.

"...We'll do one more sweep of the area tomorrow...er, today," Ratchet said, remembering that it was past midnight.

"And if we do not find her?"

"Then...we'll check several planets. Maybe Circuit hitched a ride with someone. And since her knowledge of planets are limited, she will have most likely gone to somewhere she's already been."

"So Pokitaru, Lumos and Pegasus Outpost?"

"Are those really the only planets she's been to? Man...we really need to get her out more."

"What happens if we do not find her in any of those places?"

"I...I don't know. I legitimately don't know. I guess we'll figure that out when we have to."

"I guess so. But with Circuit's size and knowledge of the universe, I highly doubt that she is far."

**Planet Zanifar**

Circuit regained consciousness after who knows long. Her whole body was aching, and she felt so weak. The little robot noticed that she was laying on the floor, and the cylinders that she could see out of the corner of her eye told her that she was still on Dr. Nefarious' contraption. She had really given it her all when she was attached to the machine, no wonder she was so tired.

The purple eyed robot slowly got onto her hands and knees. She noticed oil dripping onto the floor, and it looked like it was coming from her. Circuit reached up and wiped oil off of her mouth. She had given so much power to that machine that it caused oil to leak from her body. It was disgusting.

Circuit looked around the room. There was no one around. No Dr. Nefarious, no Klunk, no weird butler guy, nobody. She was completely alone. It was very unsettling being in a dimly lit room with no one else. But, it would have been most likely very unsettling if Dr. Nefarious was in the room. Circuit didn't like the insane doctor very much. And her brother...well, she actually wasn't sure what to think about Klunk. She both hated and liked him. It was weird.

A loud noise came from one side of the room, making Circuit jump. She got up onto her feet (thought she could barely stand) and went over to the source of the sound. But all there was was a large window overlooking some area. Circuit grabbed the windowsill and pulled her up as best as she could. She managed to barely get her eyes over the edge, but she could see into the other room now. It was some sort of laboratory. There were several aliens and robots surrounding some sort of extraordinarily large sphere in the middle of the room. There were tubes connected to the sphere, and they were also connected to the room that Circuit was in. The tubes were glowing a pale purple, making several part of the sphere glow the same color. They were powering the sphere up. But what for?

The light in the tubes faded away, and the sphere began to shake. One of the alien scientists yelled out.

"Alright, we loaded the Biobliterator 2.5 with 50% of the energy! Let's test it out!"

Circuit's eyes widened. That sphere was the Biobliterator 2.5? It was huge!

Another scientist walked over to a large control panel. It looked like it was also connected to the Biobliterator 2.5. After tapping a few buttons and flipping a few switches, a large red button popped up in the middle if the panel.

"Testing in three...two...one!"

The scientist pressed the red button and the entire room went red. Klunk would enjoy being in the room very much. The Biobliterator 2.5 made several whirring noises, and the bright purple parts started flashing. Then, several lasers shot out of the sphere and they flew towards every organic in the room. Each squishy was zapped by the laser, Circuit thought for sure that each one of them had died. It was horrible what she was watching. She had just witnessed the murder of several organics.

Or at least, she thought she did.

The bright light faded away, and Circuit nearly fell to the floor. When the light was gone, she saw that there were no more organic in the room. Instead, there were giant robot commandos where the little squishy scientists had been standing. When Nefarious had said that the Biobliterator changed organics into robots, he wasn't kidding. What used to be brilliant scientists were now heavily armed robot commandos. And it was all possible because she had given away her energy. What did she do?! She had doomed every organic in the universe! But she was evil, why was she feeling so bad? Was she not as evil as she thought she was? Was she good? No, no she had just doomed the whole universe, she couldn't be good! But...she didn't want to put the universe in peril. Was she good? Was she bad? What was she?!

With a head full of uncertainty and confusion, Circuit dropped down from the window and ran out the doors. She entered the dark corridor that Klunk had led her down. She looked around for something, anything that could help her go somewhere. After running a few feet, she located a vent in the side of the wall. The little robot hit the vent cover several times with her shoulder before she fell inwards, making a loud 'clank' noise as she fell onto the inner vent's metal surface. Then she quickly got up and ran deeper into the vent system. Circuit had honestly know idea what she was doing, but all she had on her mind was to run away. She needed to get away, far away. No more good stuff, no more bad stuff, no more anything! She just wanted to be alone with no interruptions.

Circuit found a dark rectangle in the wall of the vent. She pushed on it a little and it shifted outwards, meaning that it was some sort of door or cover. So she did the same thing that she did before, she hit the side of the vent several times with her shoulder until it gave out. But, instead of falling into another vent, Circuit found herself falling from a height of about fifteen feet. She yelled as she fell down and hit the ground. Luckily, she didn't break anything, but she was still hurting. The little robot rolled onto her back and looked up. She had gotten out. She was free. But they'll surely notice that she was missing, so she had to leave now. So Circuit quickly stood up and ran in the direction away from Dr. Nefarious' base. She had no idea where to go or what do do, but she was just focused on putting as much distance between her and everyone in the base as possible. And with her condition, it was proving to be quite the chore.

**Twenty Minutes Later**

Circuit parked herself on the side of a tree. She had ran for twenty minutes straight, she was completely exhausted. Her entire body was hurting, it almost felt like she was crushed by a commando again. She never really liked thinking about that experience.

Circuit looked around the area. Zanifar must have been a nature full planet, because Circuit was in the middle of a forest. She was surrounded by grassy grounds, trees, vines, rocks, all sort of stuff. She wondered why Nefarious built his base in such a place. Most likely because it was a great place to hide a secret lair. Besides, this planet seemed like a peaceful place, no one would ever guess that a villain was hiding out in such a beautiful place.

The little robot stood up a little, wondering what to do next. When she had escaped from Dr. Nefarious' base, she didn't really have a plan. But now that she had a moment to herself, she could formulate some sort of plan. What was she going to do? Was she just going to keep running? There was only so much that she could do. Her size, athletic ability and survival skills were so limited, she would be dead in no time. Maybe she could find a town and seek help from people? No. No getting involved with any people, she'll only end up hurting them, like she did to Ratchet and Clank. Circuit placed her head on the tree. She had no idea what to do next. Maybe she could just sit there and wait for someone to give her life changing advice. But what kind of person would be wandering in the middle of the forest?

"Hey, are you done with that tree?"

Circuit nearly jumped out of her metal casing as a voice came from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw a large bluish gray alien wearing a tool belt, white t-shirt, and boots. The little robot backed up in fear, the guy was huge. She could barely see his bearded face. The large alien dropped his toolbox and nodded at Circuit.

"Thanks for gettin' out of the way," the alien said, somehow opening the tree's base. Inside the tree were several tubes and cranks.

"Wh-why does that tree have mechanical stuff in it?" Circuit asked nervously.

"Eh, the author couldn't think of a better reason for me to be here, so she gave me a random unexplained mechanical tree to fix."

"What?"

"Nevermind...say, don't I know you?" The large alien asked, squinting his eyes as he looked at Circuit.

"Umm..."

"Yeah! I know you! You're that little guy who rides around on that Lombax's back!"

"Oh, no, sir. I am not Clank. I am Error...I-I mean Circuit...I mean uh..."

"Hm, sounds like you're unaware of what your name is, or more deeply, who you are."

"Well...I uh...I-I should let you get back to your work. I should not have interrupted," Circuit said, turning around to walk away.

"Now hold on there, little lady," the alien said as he grabbed the back of her jacket. He lifted her up onto a tree stump, then set her down. Circuit adjusted her jacket before looking back up at the alien. "Now then, tell old Plumber what's on your mind."

"Okay..." Circuit said with a bit of uncertainty. It was weird talking to this strange man, but something about him seemed welcoming. So she decided to tell him a bit about herself. "Well...I am a failed copy of the robot, Clank. That is why I look so much like him. I was made at the hands of a villain, so I was supposed to be a villain as well. However, when Ratchet and Clank took me in, they taught me to be a good robot. And I wanted to be a good robot, I thought that that was who I was. But then, one night...I attacked Ratchet with my machete. When I realized what I had done, I ran away. That's when Nefarious took me back, and he taught me to be evil. But, when I used my own power to help make an evil weapon capable of terrible things, I realized that I didn't want to be evil. But I knew that I was in too deep, so I couldn't go back to be good again. I just don't know what call myself anymore..."

"Hmmm," Plumber said, putting a finger on his chin. "Sounds like you've been though a lot these past few days. And it sounds like you're facing some sort of identity crisis, and at such a young age. Now, I'm not a philosopher, kid, but I will tell ya this: it doesn't matter whether you're good or evil, what matters is that you believe in yourself. If you're brought down by what you did in your past, then you're not gonna get anywhere in this universe. Stop focusing on what the good and the bad want to do, and just focus on what you want to do!"

"I...I want to be alone. I want to spend the rest of my days by myself, I don't want anyone around me to tell me who or what I am! I am who I say I am!"

"That's the spirit, little girl. Now then, run along. This bullcrap tree isn't going to fix itself."

The Plumber put Circuit onto the ground and returned to working on the weird tree. Circuit felt somewhat empowered now. She felt...brand new. Like she could do anything. So, she turned around and started walking away, but she quickly turned around and started waving. It was rude to leave someone without giving a proper goodbye.

"Thank you, Mr. Plumber!"

"No problem, little girl. Tell Azure that I might see her later!"

"What?"

"Run along now, go and live your life the way you want to!"

Circuit turned back around and shook her head. the Plumber was a really weird guy. Weird guy thoughts aside, the little robot set out, heading towards a whole new life of her own.

* * *

**WHOO! This took quite awhile to write.**

**So, Circuit finally escaped from Nefarious, but she seems a bit confused about who she really is. And Ratchet seems to be losing his mind. Lots of crazy and depressing stuff happenin'.**

**Also, my god, I freaking love the Plumber. He's such a fun character to write.**

**And in case some of you missed it, I published a brand new story yesterday called "Follow the Universe". It features a brand new OC of mine named Azure Draco. You'll love her, trust me. If you Ninjago readers loved Amber Violet Draco from When Dimensions Collide, then you'll love Azure.**

**Oh, and one more thing. I have updated my profile with an Update Schedule. If you're ever wondering when I'm going to update what, just consult the schedule located under the Top Tier Swordian list. **

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	30. Chapter 30

The next morning, Ratchet and Clank had kept their promise to each other and got up at the crack of dawn. Clank's battery was at 62%, which was the best he could get with the lack of sleep he was experiencing lately. Ratchet actually had half a mind to tell Clank to stay at the apartment and charge his battery some more, but he knew that the robot would refuse. Circuit had been missing for several days now, and there was no way that Clank would back out of looking for her now. So, the two had ventured out in the early morning. The sun was barely up, but they could make their way around fine.

They had first checked every single alleyway in the area, checking under every box and inside every trashcan. Unfortunately, they had turned up with nothing. And, also unfortunately, the police had ended their search that morning. They claimed that Circuit was not anywhere, that it was impossible to find her in any corner of the city. This made both Ratchet and Clank mad that they had given up, but they forced out gratitude for looking for Circuit anyway. They knew that the fate of Circuit's finding rested in only their hands. Ratchet had actually tried to contact Talwyn to see if Circuit had went to Apogee Space Station (he wasn't sure why he didn't do that when Circuit first went missing), but the Markazian said that she hadn't seen the little robot since they left after Pegasus Outpost. She wanted to help look for her, but she was had a full schedule. But she promised that once she finished everything, she would start searching for Circuit immediately. Ratchet thanked her, hung up, and continued with Clank throughout the city. For ten long hours, Ratchet and Clank went through alleyways, dumps, parks, abandoned buildings, they turned the entire city of Metropolis searching for their friend. But they came up with absolutely nothing. It was when hour twelve came by that the duo came to the conclusion that Circuit had left the planet. So that meant that they had to pack up and get ready for a journey around the universe.

Ratchet and Clank arrived at their apartment building. It was sunset at the time. Clank looked up at the sky, the night sky was starting to roll in and fuse with the evening sky. A sad look came onto his face, Circuit absolutely loved it when the sky did that. She said that it looked like that it was day and night at the same time. Unfortunately, she was missing this one. And she had missed many others.

"Clank, are you okay?"

Clank shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up at Ratchet, who was staring at him. He rubbed one eye and nodded.

"I am fine, Ratchet. My battery is just a little low."

"Well, when we're on our way to...our first destination, you can power down for a nap. And once we find Circuit, you can sleep for a long as you want."

"Sleeping for as long as I please sounds nice," Clank replied, stretching a bit. "But, we must remember the task at hand. Which planet are we going to search first?"

Ratchet walked over the front door of their apartment building and opened the door, letting Clank go in first.

"I was thinking Pokitaru, because that's the first place that Circuit-AHHH!"

"Oh dear!"

When Ratchet and Clank looked up, they were met with a behind, and it was a big one. And the sad part was that they actually recognized the behind. A pair of eyes behind glasses were peeking over a large shoulder. The person who owned the large behind stood up and faced them.

"Oh, well hey there you two. Didn't think that I would be seeing you here, but then again, this place does have some nice apartments, as well as wonderful plumbing!" The Plumber said.

"What are you doing here?" Ratchet asked, trying to get the picture of the rear end out of his head.

"Well, I've been temporarily hired by a business to help clear out pipes that have been clogged with accidentally flushed Protopets. They offered me a decent pay and they even gave me a truck to ride in," the gray alien pointed to a vehicle outside that said "Proto-Rooter". Then he noticed the tired and sad looks on the duo's faces. "Say, you two are lookin' a bit down. What seems to be the problem?"

"I-It's nothing, we just...lost someone, and we can't find her," Ratchet said, rubbing his right arm.

"But we are determined to find her and bring her home," Clank said, putting his fist in his palm.

"Now that is what I call pure determination. You know, little guy, you remind me of another robot that I met not too long ago. She was all depressed and now she's all determined and whatnot. Now that I think about it, she looked a heck of a lot like ya, too!"

"W-Wait! A robot who looked like Clank? D-Did she have purple eyes?" Ratchet asked, his heart leaping.

"Now that you mention it, she did. And she also had this tiny black jacket on, looked really nice on her-"

"Sir, that is who we are looking for! You were talking to our friend, Circuit!"

"Circuit! That's what her name was!" The Plumber said, finally remembering. "It was strange though, before she said that her name was Circuit, she said that her name was Error."

"Error? Why would she think that her name is...oh my god," Ratchet's hands balled up into fists, his fur stood up on end, and his teeth were clenched tight. "Nefarious! I bet that he was the one who took Circuit off the planet! I'll kill him!"

"Ratchet, please calm down. We can focus on beating up Doctor Nefarious after we have located Circuit. Sir, which planet did you see her on?" Clank asked, looking up at the Plumber.

"I believe that it was Zanifar that I saw her on. I still have the coordinates of the area that I saw her at if you want 'em."

"We'll take those coordinates," the Lombax said, his fur still standing up. Nefarious had made him mad before, but kidnapping Circuit was going so far over the line, he was going to see to it personally that the insane robot's metal skin was ripped off of his endoskeleton. Clank would help, of course. It was time to teach Nefarious a lesson, and this time, he was going to remember to stay away from the Lombax and little robot.

Ratchet and Clank downloaded the coordinates for the certain area on Zanifar and rushed up into their apartment. They gathered anything that they needed (weapons, food, etc), got into Aphelion, and took off into space.

**Planet Zanifar**

The duo made it to Zanifar faster than they had expected. Probably because Ratchet had Aphelion going at max speed the whole way there.

Ratchet hovered over the same area that the strange mechanical tree that the Plumber was talking about was in. And he had told them that he came straight from Zanifar to Veldin, so he was in the area very recently. And that meant that Circuit was as well. And Ratchet knew that Clank knew that, because the little robot was standing in his seat, hands on the windshield, and looking down. He was hoping that he could spot Circuit from such a high point, but the trees made it very difficult to see anything that was on the ground. So they had to land in order to see better.

The two exited the ship and walked around on the grassy ground. They looked around for a minute in case Circuit was still in the particular area, but they saw nothing but nature. Ratchet nodded to himself, then looked down at Clank.

"Okay, I'm gonna go out further and look for her. I need you to stay here. She may have seen Aphelion landing, so she might come over here to see if it's really us. Every now and then, check around this area in case she's hiding from you. No doubt she's still scared after the whole machete ordeal. Are you okay with this plan?"

Clank nodded, using his helipack to get onto the nose of the ship so he could see the surrounding area a little better. Ratchet grabbed his Omniwrench and strapped it to his unoccupied harness. He kept forgetting that his wrench could fit on his bolt harness. He said a short bye to Clank, then he ran off into the forest. He was so close, he was so close to finding Circuit. So close to finding his little girl. Today, today was the day the he was going to see her again.

Ratchet took off into the trees and bushes, his Hoverboots hitting the ground hard with each step. He brought his Hoverboots in case of emergency. He tended not to use them as much because Clank always seemed to get upset whenever the Lombax would use them. And Ratchet didn't like his best friend being upset, so he only brought the Hoverboots in case of emergency.

The Lombax ran for several minutes, stopping every few feet to look around the area, but all he would see were plants and rocks. He had to admit, Circuit had picked a beautiful place to roam around in. But, then again, it was very bad that an eight year old girl was roaming around in a forest all alone, so Ratchet ignored the beauty of the place and focused completely on finding Circuit. She had to be around there somewhere. Like the Plumber had said, he was there recently, and so had Circuit. And Circuit wasn't a very fast runner due to her size, so (hopefully) it was only a matter of time until he found her.

* * *

Circuit was sitting down on a large tree root that was coming out of the ground. She was drawing a picture of a (very detailed) flower in the dirt with a pointed stick. She had almost forgotten how much of a good drawer she was. Then again, with the past few day's events, she didn't have the time to think about art and drawings, she had to focus on being evi-

The little robot stopped herself right there. Circuit had promised herself that she wouldn't focus on being good or evil, she was her, and that was all she needed to know. But still, she couldn't help but feel very confused, no matter how much she tried to fight the feeling off. Though she had done something evil, Circuit was considered good, so what does that make her? Was she in some sort of good/evil purgatory? Because it sure felt like it. The little robot wished that there was someone like the Plumber around to help her figure out who she really was. Yes, she had decided to live a new life that involved not wonder who she was, but the question of who she was kept popping up and nagging her. It was starting to drive her insane.

A few drops of oil dripped from the corner of Circuit's mouth. She wiped it away and a depressed look came onto her face. She was so tired and weak. Giving the Biobliterator 2.5 all of that energy was a positively horrible idea. Because the tiredness and depression was only making her feel worse and worse, and also because she had helped Nefarious power the Biobliterator. Circuit had so much guilt weighing on her shoulders right now, it was awful. The thing that she wanted the most at the moment was a hug. Just a hug, from anyone. That was all she wanted.

A loud noise caught Circuit's attention, it almost sounded like something landing, but she decided to ignore it and continue to work on her drawing. Several minutes passed by when she started hear more noises. The noises were starting to get closer, and Circuit was starting to become alarmed. It was almost like someone or something was coming for her. But who the heck would come all the way out here just to see her?

"H-H...Hello?"

* * *

Ratchet stepped over several large tree roots that were coming out of the ground. He had been running for ten minutes, but, even though he wanted to keep running, his lungs were putting up a fight. So he had to slow down to a walk so he could catch his breath. Still no sign of Circuit, which discouraged him greatly. He thought for sure that he would have found her by now, but nope. Not a single sign. Not a single little solitary si-

"H-H...Hello?"

The Lombax froze and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. That hello...that single hello...he knew the hello's voice. He would know that voice anywhere.

Ratchet stumbled as he cleared away from branches and bushes and jumped over a few root, landing in a clearing. Though the clearing led to a dead end, and by dead end, he meant a cliff. But the cliff wasn't where his eyes were. No, his green eyes were down towards the ground, looking at a pair of large, calming purple eyes. And that pair of large, calming purple eyes were looking back at him. Circuit looked shocked as she stood up, nearly stepping on her beautiful drawing of a flower.

"R-R-Ratchet?" Circuit said quietly.

"Circuit..." Ratchet said, putting his hands on his knees as he bent them a little. He didn't want to grab Circuit, because he didn't want to frighten her. By the look in her eyes,she was still shook up. He had to be slow with her. "Circuit, sweetheart, there you are. Clank and I turned all of Metropolis upside down looking for you. We've been looking for you ever since you left. Words can't describe how happy I am right now...Circuit? Wh-what's wrong? What are you doing?"

Circuit had put one arm up defensively and started backing away. No, no this was impossible. There's no way that Ratchet and Clank had found her, no way. She couldn't be near Ratchet, she was only going to hurt him again. And that's the very last thing that she wanted to do. The Biobliterator was already making her feel guilty enough, she didn't need the guilt of making Ratchet and Clank miserable. So, using every bit of her willpower, she fought back the urge to run into Ratchet's arms, turned around, and ran away.

Ratchet was shocked that Circuit ran away from him. Then again, she was probably scared that she was going to attack him again. He had to catch her and tell her that he forgives her for the attack. So, he started running after her. He had to admit, Circuit was a lot faster than he remembered. Then again, she did get a head start because Ratchet had to take second to get out of shock. But, Ratchet wished that he had caught her by then, because Circuit was running towards the edge of the cliff. Was...was she about to...? No, no, she couldn't be thinking about...about committing suicide!

Circuit stopped at the edge of the cliff, several rocks crumbling off of the edge and tumbling down into the rocky bottom. The little robot still had a fear of heights, so she was pretty uncomfortable. She turned around when Ratchet caught up to her, he looked extraordinarily panicked. He held his arms out and shook his head, his eyes full of sadness and worry.

"Circuit! No no no! Don't do it! It's alright, I know that it wasn't your fault! You would never hurt me or anyone else," Ratchet said, trying not to move forward since he thought that she would jump if he did.

Circuit kept her place at the edge of the cliff, but she didn't back up. She then realized what Ratchet thought that she was going to do, so she reassured him, "I am not considering committing suicide, I just want you to stay away fro-"

The tip of the cliff gave away under Circuit's weight, and it crumbled underneath her feet and fell, taking her along with the rubble. Her feet dragged along on the crumbling rocks before she started falling.

"CIRCUIT!" Ratchet yelled, running to the edge of the cliff and looking down. When he saw her falling, he quickly jumped off of the edge and down after her. He tried to activate his Hoverboots, but they weren't turning on. "Come on you old pieces of junk!"

Circuit's heart had leaped when Ratchet had jumped off the cliff. What in the world was he doing? He would die if he hit the ground from that height! And his blood would be on Circuit's hands, and she would never be able to live with herself, not even in the afterlife.

She was almost at the ground, it was almost over. She would die knowing that she had attacked an innocent person, and now that innocent person was going to die while trying to go after her. Maybe she was an evil robot after all? She didn't know anymore, she was willing to call herself neutral at that point.

The ground was coming closer and closer. Circuit wrapped her arms around herself and prepared to face the end.

At least, she thought that she was about to face the end.

Right before she hit the ground, Circuit felt a large force tackle her, then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Ratchet had suddenly shot down and grabbed her before she collided with the ground. But, unfortunately, they were too close to the ground to make a good landing. Ratchet hit the ground and slid a few feet across the dirt, making a small path when he did. When this happened, a sudden memory flashed before Circuit's eyes.

_A large fireball emerged from the sea of rocks and it sailed through the air, hitting the commando in the crook of its elbow. It was forced to let go of Circuit, so it opened its hand and dropped her. She was in for a fall of at least eleven feet. Too painful to scream anymore, she felt her body fall down, and she closed her eyes and prepared for impact. But, instead of hitting a hard ground, two arms wrapped around her at the very last moment. Ratchet was the one who was met with a hard ground. He slid across the ground, dropping his Omniwrench in the process. Once his sliding stopped, he coughed up some of the dirt and such that he had accidentally inhaled._

Ratchet moaned and coughed as he loosened his grip on Circuit a tiny bit. The little purple eyed robot looked up at him and checked to see if he had any injuries. But, all she could really observe was his face, which had a vague line in the fur. She knew where the line had come from, and it made her frown.

"...Ratchet-"

Circuit was quickly cut off by Ratchet hugging her tightly. She found this to be a bit strange because the Lombax has never hugged her that tightly before. She could also feel Ratchet shaking a little. The little robot looked up at him once more and was surprised to see a thin stream of tears running down his face. His teeth were clenched, but he opened them as he spoke with a shaky voice.

"I actually thought that you were gonna kill yourself..." Ratchet pushed himself off the ground, letting Circuit fall into his lap. But he didn't release Circuit from his grip. He looked down at the tiny robot. "Are you okay? Is anything broken?"

"N-No..."

"You're sure that you're okay? If anything is hurting, even the tiniest bit, I want you to tell me."

"No...I am not hurt..." Her eyes started to fill with tears as she reached up and felt the slightly cut fur on his cheek. "But you are..."

"Aw, Circuit," Ratchet said, grabbing the little robot's hand. "I'm fine, I really am. Clank fixed me up in no time, I was all better the morning after...after you left."

"Are you mad at me for running away?" The little robot asked.

"No...no, I could never be mad at you. You were just scared, and I don't blame you. That was a pretty scary experience. No doubt you were confused and frightened, and everything was overwhelming you, and that made you want to get far away from Clank as I as possible. But, I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't in favor of you running away. We spent all that time that you were away looking for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"But...but I did bad things, Ratchet! I did really bad things! Why would you still want me if I am evil?!"

"Circuit, I don't care if you're good, evil, or neutral. You're my kid, and I love you no matter who you are or what you want to do. Whatever decision you make, I'll support it. So...what do want to do?"

"What do I want to do...?" She looked up at Ratchet, tears leaking down her face. "I...I want to...I want to stay with you forever, daddy!"

Ratchet pulled Circuit into a tight embrace, he could feel her tiny metallic arms wrap around his torso. The little robot sobbed heavily into his chest, and he was perfectly okay with that. He stroked the back of her head, just like he would do with Clank. It always seemed to soothe robots faster. But that wasn't the point. The point was that he finally had his little girl back, and nothing was going to take her away ever again. Those who tried to even lay a finger on her would meet the end of the Lombax's gun. No one hurts his Circuit.

* * *

**Okay, writing that end but made me tear up a little bit. Ratchet and Circuit's daddy-daughter relationship is my most favorite thing to write.**

**Now, gotta make this quick because I have to go to bed.**

**I was going to update Organic Ordeal today as well, but I didn't have the time. I'll update next weekend, I promise.**

**Next chapter: the trio storm Nefarious' base and Circuit faces one of the most important battles of her life. Will she fight or will she back out? Stay tuned for more!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	31. Chapter 31

Ratchet and Circuit walked the way back to Aphelion, both feeling relieved that they had survived the cliff fall, but they were also a bit shook up from the fact they they had fallen off of a cliff. But now they were both fine and they were ready to tell Clank the good news...that Ratchet had located Circuit, not that they just survived a cliff fall. They probably wouldn't want to tell Clank about that. s

The Aphelion came into view, and so did Clank. Circuit walked faster when she saw the little green eyed robot. And Clank jumped a little when he saw Circuit walking towards him, but he instantly recovered and used his Heli-Pack to quickly get off of the ship. He landed a few feet in front of Circuit.

"Circuit, I-"

Circuit completely ignored the fact that Clank was about to start talking and she just upped and hugged him. Clank didn't even bother trying to talk again, he just simply hugged Circuit back. He had missed her so much, he risked damaging his battery from not sleeping in order to see her again. Looked like that all the effort was completely worth it...and it also looked like that Clank could sleep for as long as he wanted tonight.

Ratchet picked up the two robots, which startled them a bit, and carried them to the ship, jumping up onto the wing and setting both Clank and Circuit into his lap. He placed his hand on both of their heads and nuzzled both of their antennae, making both of them giggle. Ratchet laughed as well, but then he looked upwards and asked them something that he wanted to know.

"So what now, guys? Do we just go home and forget that this all happened?" Ratchet asked, looking between both robots. They never really came up with a plan if they found Circuit.

"Um...about going home," Circuit said, placing a hand on the back of her head. She had to tell them about the plan that Nefarious had, she couldn't just leave them in the dark. It was the right thing to do. Evil robot or not, she was going to tell them. "You see, there is uh...there is something here on this planet that is going to be a major problem if we do not do something."

"By the way you're saying it, it doesn't sound like a big deal. What is it?"

"Well, uh...does the name 'Biobliterator' mean anything to either of you two?"

Both Ratchet and Clank's eyes went wide as they looked at each other, they knew the name "Biobliterator" well. Too well.

"Wh-Why are you asking us that?"

"Because...Dr. Nefarious is building a big weapon called the Biobliterator 2.5. I saw what it can do during a test. It turned all the organic scientists into heavily armed robotic comidi...commenda...commahdy-"

"Commandos?"

"Yes, those! There was no trace of organic material left. And to think that it was only at fifty percent!" Circuit said, now fully grasping her head.

"Fifty percent? What do you mean by that?" Clank asked with a curious tone.

"Wh-What do I mean?" The female robot said nervously. "Well, what I mean by fifty percent is uh...Nefarious used a uh...and then Klunk tried and succeeded in...um..."

"That explanation got us nowhere with anything," Ratchet said, folding his arms.

Circuit's shoulders and head dropped. She had to come out with it, no matter what the consequences were. What did she have to lose anyway? She rubbed her right arm, "I mean fifty percent as in fifty percent upgrade. When I was let out of my cell, I was taken to this strange machine. Doctor Nefarious attached me to it, and then told me to release my energy into it. When I told him that I cannot do that unless I am frightened, Klunk stepped in and frightened me to the point of passing out. And when I woke up, I could hardly move."

"Wait, Nefarious forced you to upgrade a new Biobliterator by strapping you to a machine and scaring you?" The Lombax asked, his eyes twitching a little. When Circuit nodded sadly, he reached back behind him, grabbed his Omniwrench, then turned around. "Welp, you guys stay here. I'm gonna go kill Nefarious. I would tell you how I'm going to kill him, but I can't because there are children here. See ya!"

Clank and Circuit looked at each other, then Clank got down off the ship and grabbed Ratchet's arm, "Ratchet wait...I want to come too."

"M-Me too!" Circuit said, jumping down off the ship, but her legs completely gave out when she hit the ground. She shook her head then stood back up, walking (and nearly stumbling) over towards Ratchet. "I know where Nefarious's base is. I can show you the way so you do not spend all day looking for it."

"I dunno, Circuit," Ratchet said, trying to look away from her by looking at his wrench. "You don't really seem to be in the greatest condition for beating the crap out of Nefarious."

"I am fine, Ratchet. I am...just a little tired. That is all. There is no need to worry. And do not look at me like that, Clank."

Clank had his fists on his waist was giving Circuit an 'I do not want you setting a single foot into that base and risking your life again like last time' look. Even the light in his brilliant green eyes were telling her to stay put. However, Circuit decided not to listen to his expression or his eyes. She was going on this mission, she just had to. She still had matters of her own to take care of.

"Come on, Clank. Cut her some slack," Ratchet said, nudging the little male robot on the shoulder with his finger. "Besides, we just got her back. Do you really want to leave her?"

The male robot glanced at the female robot. She had both hands behind her back and her calming purple eyes shined beautifully. Clank just had to give in, he hated it when Ratchet used his emotions against him. Though he wanted nothing more than for Circuit to remain safe and sound in the ship, he reached forward and grabbed the purple eyed robot's hand and pulled her forward gently, making her walk along side with him. He closed his eyes as he walked by Ratchet, "Me giving in does not prove anything."

"Heh, proves that you're still nuts for Circuit," Ratchet said quietly, but he smiled when Clank looked over his shoulder and glared at him. He hooked his Omniwrench back onto his harness and followed the two robots into the forest.

**Thirty Minutes Later**

"Circuit, how much farther?" Ratchet asked tiredly as he folded his arms.

"It should be around here somewhere...or perhaps my sense of direction is a bit off," Circuit replied, placing a hand on the back of her head.

Clank cocked his head a little when Circuit touched the back of her head, she had been doing that quite a bit ever since Ratchet found her. Maybe she sustained some damage from the fall off the cliff after all? Still, he had to ask, "Circuit, what is wrong with your head?"

"That is not a very nice thing to say, Clank," the female robot said, looking over her shoulder (she was still holding Clank's hand, but she had to be up front in order to lead).

"N-No, that is not what I meant. What I meant was that you seem to be having issues with your head. Are you in pain?"

"No, I am not in any pain," Circuit replied, looking away from Clank.

"Then why are you constantly touching the back of your head?"

"Oh, I just tend to do that when I am restless. It has been a long week for me."

"That's pretty understandable," Ratchet said, looking bored. "No doubt that machine that Nefarious strapped you to drained all your energy."

"Yes, being attached to that machine was most uncomfortable," the female robot said.

After a few minutes of dead silence and walking, a thought occurred to Clank. He and Circuit had been separated for quite awhile. However, when Circuit reunited with him, she didn't seem all that happy. And she didn't really show any sort of...romantic affection towards him. Of course, having a problem with that made Clank sound pathetic, but he was genuinely curious about Circuit's behavior. It was like she wasn't the free spirited young girl that he had known, it was like she grew up over the past few days and became a new robot. A more mature and depressed robot. Was it because of the whole Nefarious ordeal? Or was it because she might not be interested in Clank anymore? The whole thing confused the green eyed robot. Not only was being in love hard, it was really confusing.

A few more minutes passed by when Circuit suddenly stopped in her tracks, making Clank nearly run into her. She looked around the surrounding area. they were very close. She recognized the plant patterns of the area, they were extremely close to the place where she had made her escape. But now she was prepared to go back in. She turned around and looked at Ratchet.

"We are almost there. We should probably enter where I made my escape, so we need to find an uncovered air vent."

"Okay," Ratchet said, surprised that his eight year old daughter was giving him directions. Other parents were right, kids do grow up too fast. "I'll carry the two of you so we can move faster."

Clank removed the Omniwrench from Ratchet's harness and attached himself to the harness. Circuit was simply picked up by Ratchet and he kept her in one arm, the other one's hand was being occupied with the Omniwrench. The Lombax quickly walked forward, almost immediately finding the base the Circuit was talking about. Now all he needed to do was find the air vent. And sure enough, there was an uncovered air vent right in the side of one of the base's outer walls. And there was a decent imprint of Circuit in the soft dirt below the vent. That must have been where she landed.

Ratchet reached behind him and tapped Clank on his retracted hand, the little robot nodding as a response. Ratchet jumped up, and Clank activated his Heli-Pack, propelling the Lombax upwards even more. Ratchet clung onto the side of the open rectangular hole. He pushed Circuit up inside and jerked his back to get Clank's attention.

"Your face'll be scraping the ceiling if I go in there with you on my back. You two walk in front of my while I do a little army crawling."

Clank nodded and detached himself from Ratchet's back, climbing up his shoulder and jumping into the air vent. Ratchet pulled himself up into the vent after them, folding in his ears as he felt a sense of claustrophobia. Circuit pointed down one hall.

"We should try going this way."

"You heard the lady, Clank," Ratchet said, pulling his feet into the vent. "Let's go."

Circuit led the two down the vent's twists and turns. They were going at a decent pace, but they had to stop every now and then so Ratchet could make his way around a corner ("Sometimes I wish that I was small like you two, he said). It was only when they had traveled down one vent corridor that Circuit stopped, making Clank and Ratchet stopped.

"What's wrong Circuit? Why did we stop?" Ratchet asked, a bit out of breath.

"I...I am detecting something."

"What is it?" Clank asked.

"I do not know...but it seems like that it is coming closer-AHH!"

The three yelled in surprise as they vent underneath them suddenly gave out and they fell down onto the floor. Circuit and Clank landed in their backs while Ratchet roughly landed in his stomach, which knocked the wind out of him. As Clank got up and checked on Ratchet, Circuit was suddenly grabbed. Whatever grabbed her pulled her jacket collar up to her neck so it choked her, and she couldn't yell for help. Ratchet and Clank did notice though, and they stood up so they could run after her. But, Circuit was thrown by whoever had her, and she landed in what appeared to be a large room. Ratchet and Clank were coming for her, but when they reached the doorway, they hit something and fell backwards. The little female robot had to process everything that had just happened within the past few seconds. Everything was so sudden, she legitimately had no idea what was going on. But she had an idea of what was going on when she heard a voice come up from behind her.

"Well well well, look at who came crawling back. And with unwelcomed guests it seems," Klunk said, his right foot sitting next to a lit up yellow pad.

It was a pressure pad. Pressure pads were usually used for deactivating force fields. That would explain why Ratchet was currently hitting his Omniwrench against a blue particle filled force field that was denying him and Clank access to the room that Circuit was now in. It also explained why Klunk was moving so fast, it was so he wouldn't be blocked off from the room. Speaking of the room, Circuit looked around and noticed that she was in the testing facility for the Biobliterator 2.5. And sure enough, the giant weapon was in that very room, still hooked up to the control panel. It was huge, it made Circuit want to cower in fear. But, instead, she stood up straight.

"What do you want, Klunk?"

"Oh I just wanted to see my sister again."

"I do not believe you."

"Yeah, I don't believe myself either. But, I did want you to see the Biobliterator 2.5," Klunk said, pointing to the giant weapon. "Though it is still dependent on its control panel, once we have fully upgraded it, this weapon will be able to robotize nearly half a galaxy in one go. And it's all thanks to you, Error-"

"Her name is Circuit!" Ratchet yelled from his position behind the forcefield.

"Oh, right, you two are here. Well, I guess that it fine, because you get to see what your precious little 'Circuit' has done for us villains. If it wasn't for her, none of this would have been possible, so I really must thank you for finding her."

"Be quiet, Klunk! Circuit never meant to give you her power! You forced her to!" Clank said, glaring at his evil doppelganger.

"Ugh, I try my best to forget about your existence, but then you show back up and remind me of you," the red eyed robot said, pinching where the bridge of his nose would be. "Anyway, to be fair, she did get on the machine voluntarily, and she did tell us how to activate her little power. So, yeah, we didn't force her to do all that stuff."

"I did not want to do it," Circuit said quietly, making Klunk turn around and look at her. "I was so depressed and so confused...I was willing to do what anyone told me. And look at where that got me."

"Oh quit complaining! It's not like we Nefarious and I have done anything really bad to you."

"That is not true! That is one hundred percent not true! You do not know it, but because of you and Nefarious, I am now forced to live out the rest of the days a full as I can, depressed or not! There is only one person who has experienced what I am experiencing. And I would not expect you to understand what is happening to me in a million years!" The little robot said as she was becoming angry. Ratchet and Clank looked at each other, what the heck was she talking about? Experiencing what?

Klunk burst into a laughing fit. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, then removed one hand to wipe his eye. This both confused and concerned Circuit.

"You think that I don't know what you did? You think that I don't know what you did the night that your poor boyfriend was hospitalized in the Robo-Shack?" He smiled and continued as he saw Circuit's eyes go wide with shock. He may have just struck a weak nerve. "Oh, I know what you did. But, question is, do they know?" Klunk said, pointing at Ratchet and Clank. They both looked very curious. The red eyed robot turned around and faced the Lombax and green eyed robot. "You think that Clank recovering from the Hexzar Virus was some sort of miracle thanks to the special nanotech that he was administered?"

"Yeah, that's right, it was a miracle. Al's Anti-Virus Nanotech killed the virus in Clank's CPU. Circuit was there with me and she watched Clank heal, right Circuit?" Ratchet said, glaring at the red eyed robot then looking at the purple eyed one. But his ears lowered when he saw what appeared to be both a shocked and miserable expression on her face. "Circuit? Circuit, what's the matter? C-C-Circuit?"

"After days of showing symptoms and you still have no idea what's wrong with her? And you honestly call yourself her father," Klunk said, shaking his head.

"What symptoms? What are you talking about?" Clank asked.

"What am I talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about! I'll tell you about the night that you were doomed to perish, and how sweet, little Circuit couldn't bare to watch Ratchet's reaction to his best friend's death! I'll tell you about how Circuit removed the Nanotech tube and hacked into Clank's CPU, taking the Hexzar Virus onto herself! Don't you see you idiots?! She's not _confused_, she's not _depressed_, she's _dying!_"

* * *

**I'm not gonna comment on sh*t, I'm just gonna let that sink in on its own.**

**And you can't say that I dropped a bomb on you because I've been giving you hints throughout the story. The blood dripping from her mouth, the tiredness, Klunk saying that her CPU looked awful, Circuit not wanting to see Klunk "while she was like this", the depression, her reaction to Clank talking about his research on the Hexzar Virus. And, in the chapter where Clank was at Al's Robo Shack, Circuit glanced at Clank's head panel and she said that she could hopefully do more for him. Well, now you know what she meant.**

**Anyway, I decided to get this chapter up early because I didn't want to wait until Saturday to post a finished, plot changing chapter. I'll have to fix the Update Schedule though.**

**Oh, and Weekly Oneshot #5 was posted yesterday. It's called "One Year of Misery", if you couldn't already tell, it's a super depressing oneshot.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	32. Chapter 32

"She's _dying!_" Klunk yelled at the duo with what appeared to be irritation.

Both Ratchet and Clank were completely shocked. All this time, Circuit was….was dying? No, no that couldn't be possible. They would know if Circuit was suffering from the Hexzar virus, right? This had to be a great big lie, Klunk was obviously trying to mess with them, and it was sort of working. Ratchet placed his hands on the force field and yelled at Klunk.

"You're lying! Circuit doesn't have the Hexzar Virus, she's perfectly healthy! Right, Circuit?"

Circuit was hugging herself and her head was low, but she raised it a little so she could look at Klunk, "How did you find out?"

"I'm your brother, I know about everything that you do. At least ever since I've learned how to use that stupid Connection thing, god I hate the system so much!" The red eyed robot said, placing his fists on both sides of his head. "Nefarious keeps on making me use that stupid system so we can check on what you're doing. I was actually doing fine until he asked me to take control of you! Do you know how taking over your mind affects me? I threw up several times after I was done! It was awful!"

"Took over her body?" Clank said, thinking to himself. Then he realized something. "Wait...Ratchet, you were right. That was not Circuit who attacked you that night, it was Klunk, who had taken over Circuit's mind."

"I knew it!" Ratchet said, pounding one fist against the field. "I knew that it wasn't Circuit who attacked me! It was you!"

"Hey, to be fair, if it wasn't for her owning a machete, I would have probably failed. And I couldn't beat you up, because I seriously doubt that that girl can throw a punch," Klunk said, jerking a thumb towards Circuit.

"Alright, Klunk, enough talk. Release Circuit and you and Nefarious surrender quietly," Clank said.

"Oh like you're going to do something. You're trapped behind that force field," the evil robot said, placing a fist onto his waist. "Besides, your business isn't with me. You have more...pressing matters to attend to with someone else. Doctor Nefarious! They're here, behind the force field, and they're all yours!"

A speaker offered a voice throughout the room.

_"Thank you, Klunk! You've been most helpful! You've almost made up for all the times when you were a gigantic pain in my-"_ the speaker turned to static, cutting off Nefarious.

"Well, it looks like that you're about to be on your way," Klunk said. "Don't worry about Circuit, I'm going to take _good_ care of her." The little robot punched his palm, signifying the worst for Circuit

Ratchet and Clank were startled when their bodies started becoming engulfed in orange particles. They were getting ready to teleport. But Clank couldn't go yet, there was still something he needed to know. He put his hands up against the blue force field.

"C-Circuit! Why did you take the Hexzar Virus from me? You know that it will kill you! Why did you do it? And why did you not tell us?"

Circuit simply stared at him. Though her eyes were brightly lit, it looked like that there was hardly anything left on the inside. She gave a smile smile as she put her hood up and zipped up her jacket all the way. Then she drew her machete. She had a hunch of what Klunk wanted to do after they disappeared. The little robot looked at Clank once more as he was about to teleport.

"You no longer have to worry about me, Clank, Ratchet. Some things are best forgotten...and so are some people," Circuit said, tossing her machete onto the ground.

"F-Forgotten?! Why would we-" Ratchet started, but both he and Clank fully teleported away, leaving Circuit with a battle-ready Klunk.

Ratchet and Clank felt strange sensations run through their bodies as they were teleported to a different room. It took a moment for Ratchet's vision to return to him, but once it did, he discovered that they were in a much smaller room. There were only a few computer devices laying around, and a giant window on the nearest wall. The Lombax's ears twitched as a familiar screechy voice.

"Aha, nice of the two of you to-AH!" Nefarious was cut off by Ratchet throwing his Omniwrench at him. "Are you crazy?! You could have killed me!"

"That's the idea!" Ratchet said angrily, retrieving his wrench. He wrapped his fingers so tightly around the handle, his finger skin under his fur was turning purple. The Lombax threw a few more swings at Nefarious, but he kept barely missing the evil robot. "Hold still, damn it!"

"No, I'm going to hold still so you can beat me down with that piece wrench of yours!" Nefarious said. He looked down at who he called his "arch nemesis". "Well don't just stand there! You're supposed to be the reasonable one of the duo, do something about him!"

Clank gave the doctor an angry look and folded his arms, "After everything you have done to Ratchet, Circuit and I? As far as I am concerned, Ratchet is not doing anything wrong."

"NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG?! I'LL KILL YOU YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF-AHHH!"

Doctor Nefarious so too busy insulting and threatening Clank that he didn't notice Ratchet step behind him, raise his wrench, and whack him in the back of the head. The doctor fell to the ground, nearly unconscious (Ratchet had never hit someone that hard with Omniwrench before). When Nefarious fell to the ground, Ratchet place the end of his wrench on the robot's neck, making it so he couldn't raise his head. The Lombax talked to him in a quiet voice.

"You mess with my daughter, you mess with me. So next time you think about even looking at Circuit, just remember that you'll feel this if you do."

Ratchet raised his wrench one more time and gave Nefarious one more whack in the head, knocking the insane robot out. The Lombax lowered his weapon and took a few deep breaths. Then he looked at Clank, who had sort a shocked expression on his face. He had seen Ratchet angry before, but he was not used to the Lombax being so intense with anyone. And him just beating Nefarious with his Omniwrench, that part was...a bit disturbing. However, he had to remember that that was all for the trouble that Dr. Nefarious caused Circuit. In fact, he remembered the fact so well, he actually trotted up to Nefarious, looked around to make sure that no one else was looking, then kicked Nefarious in the jaw. Of course, Clank had little kicks, so it didn't do too much. He noticed the look Ratchet was giving him.

"Um...I almost tripped, th-that is why I kicked Nefarious, because I was about to fall..."

"Uh-huh, sure. Point is, we both feel better now that we finally beat the crap out of Nefarious. Now then, we need to get out of this room and get back to Cir...Circuit..." Ratchet's ears dropped. He was so busy beating Dr. Nefarious, that he had nearly forgotten about what Klunk had said. Circuit took the Hexzar Virus onto herself. She...she was dying. "...Why did she do it, Clank? We were all ready to finally start being happy together again, but then...we need to get back to her and take her Al's immediately. He was able to do something about the virus before, he can do something about it again. We can't spend our time sitting around moping about her...ailment. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Um, they may not be so easy, Ratchet," Clank said, pointing to a warp bad that had a hole in the middle with wires sticking out of it. "I think that you threw your Omniwrench a little too hard."

"Aw, crap!" Ratchet said, facepalming. "Can you fix it?"

"I can, but it will take a few minutes to reattach the wires," the little robot said.

Ratchet made an annoyed grunt sound as he folded his arms and he strolled over to the giant window, which was the only window in the room. He placed his forehead up against it. He quickly noticed that the window was overlooking the room that they were recently in. The Biobliterator really stood out in the room. Ratchet quickly tried to look around the giant weapon, in hopes of spotting Circuit. When he stepped over to the other side of the window, he saw a small silver object covered in black. It was her. Circuit had her hood up, and her machete was on the floor next to her. He also Klunk walking towards her. He pounded his fists on the thick glass lightly.

"You better hurry up there, pal. Nefarious isn't the only robot whose ass I wanna kick."

* * *

Klunk laughed as he walked towards his sister, "Hehehehehe, well, looks like there's no one here to back you up anymore. You're all alone."

"It appears so," Circuit said, her foot nearly touching her machete.

Klunk looked down at the weapon, "You know, sister, the point of a machete is that you're supposed to hold it, not put it on the ground. Not only are you flat, but you seem to be a bit slow."

The purple eyed robot didn't respond, she just stood her ground. She was not going to let Klunk get into her head anymore. Actually, she was wondering if Klunk could get into her mind anymore. Surely the Hexzar Virus would have kept him out. But she decided to ask anyway. "If you do not like me for the way I am, why not just take control of me again?"

"Ugh, I wish I could. But that virus that you picked up soon became too strong for me to handle. I actually tried entering your mind several times while you were away, but every time I did, I was blocked off by some sort of black lightning barrier. And I couldn't get past no matter what. But, I guess I really don't need to worry about controlling you anymore. It's only going to be a short time until you're dead, and you don't have the strength to upgrade weapons anymore. You're completely useless now."

"So what are you going to do with me?"

"Actually, I should let you sit here and watch the destruction that we can cause with the Biobliterator because of you. But, not gonna lie, that would be boring as hell. So, I thought that I would have a bit of fun by decapitating you with your own machete. Long threat short, I'm going to kill you."

"You are going to kill me...fine," Circuit said with no emotion whatsoever.

"Wh-What?" Klunk said, with a confused yet angry expression on his face. He was not expecting an answer of reaction like that. They didn't hear it, but Ratchet also yelled 'what'.

"I am going to die anyway. So go ahead and kill me. But it will not improve who you are."

"Oh god, I am not in the mood for one of those feel good, heartwarming speeches! And you're telling me that you're completely fine with me killing you?! Well, let's see if you're fine with this!" Klunk grabbed the back of Circuit's head and threw her face into the ground. But before she even had time to react, the red eyed robot grabbed her by the hood and brought her upwards, then he kicked her square in the jaw, sending her flying back a couple feet. Klunk grabbed Circuit, who was now bleeding out her mouth and one eye, by the hood and brought her closer to his face. "Are you still okay with this?"

"Of c-course I am..." Circuit said, spitting out some oily blood. "I know that this is not anger that was put towards me. You are angry about something else."

"Oh will just shut up already!" Klunk yelled, kneeing Circuit in the stomach several times, making her cough up more blood. If he had teeth , they would have been clenched so tight. "How the hell are you not dead yet?! Just freaking die!"

"I refuse to die until I have closure with you, Klunk," the female robot said, placing a hand on his arm.

Circuit's sudden touch angered Klunk even more. His eyes brightened with pure fury. "I SAID DIE, DAMN IT!"

The evil robot pulled his leg back, then launched it forward, nailing Circuit right in the knee. The force of the kick was so great, it made the bolt in Circuit's knee break and her leg bent the wrong way. The female robot had been very tolerant of Klunk's attack, but this one really hurt. Klunk let go of Circuit as she screamed in pain, then fell to the floor, trembling in a forming pool of her own blood. She looked down at her leg, it was completely bent the wrong way, the sight might have made Clank vomit.

Klunk stood over Circuit, his blood red eyes looking down at her. He looked tired, he was theoretically gasping for air. He threw his arms outwards as he gasped, "What the hell are you waiting for? Fight back! I'm killing you more and more with each kick and punch! Fight back, damn it!"

"Why would you want me to fight back? I thought that you wanted to kill me?" Circuit asked weakly.

"Well yeah, b-but...but at least die with some dignity!"

"Strange. You seem to hate me, but you want me to die with dignity. Why is that?"

"W-Well...because uh...sh-shut up!" Klunk yelled, kicking Circuit in the stomach several more times. "I'm not going to let you mess with my mind!"

"I am not trying to mess with your mind, I am simply asking you a question. May I ask you another one?"

"...Mm, I suppose. I'm about to kill you anyway, might as well spew out your last words," Klunk said, standing down. He honestly didn't know why he was allowing this. It was...it was definitely weird for him.

"You are a copy of Clank, just like me. You were built to be evil, just like me. Yet I turned out to be good, and you turned out to be bad. Let me ask you something, Klunk. Do you hate me because you want to...or because you have to?"

"What _are_ you talking about?"

"I cannot help but notice that you and Nefarious do not get along very well. No doubt he is using you in order to use the Connection, but you do not seemed to be bothered by the fact that you are being used as some sort of tool. You seem more like a slave than an evil companion. I want to know Klunk, is Nefarious forcing you to do all of this?"

"N-No! I am not some sort of tool to that insane robot! Now shut up!" Klunk yelled, feeling bothered by what Circuit was saying.

"...It is not fair, is it? We are both clones of Clank, both built by Nefarious, and we both seemed to have been in an 'inactive' state at one point. But I was found by Ratchet and Clank while you were found by Nefarious. I was treated nicely and with respect while you were being pushed around and threatened. No wonder you are angry at me, I got the better side of life while you were left in the dark."

"I told you to sh-shut up!" The evil robot yelled, stuttering a bit. He felt something inside of his chest cavity, what was it? And why did it hurt?

Circuit shook a little as she stood up, her broken leg was limp as she stood on a single leg. "Someone once told me that the universe has a sense of humor, and it tells jokes just like everyone else. Well, I think that the universe is telling you a really cruel joke that you have yet to figure out. But I am here to guide you to the punchline, Klunk. You see, just because a robot was built by someone evil does not mean that they have to be evil. Every robot has a choice in life, and they should be free to do whatever makes you happy. And, by the way you are looking at me right now, you are trying to tell me that you are not happy. You do not want this life, but you are forced to live it because of the constant death threats you receive from Nefarious. You never got a choice because someone else decided for you. All of the stuff I am saying may confuse you, but I just want to tell you this. It does not matter whether you are good or evil, what matters is that you believe in yourself. I believe in myself, Klunk, and I believe in you too. But the question is," she held out her hand towards her brother, "are you willing to do the same?"

For possibly the first time in his life, Klunk's red eyed were not in an angry position. No, they were completely open, making the red glow much fuller. He felt something inside of him, something that he never felt before. But he wasn't quite sure what is was. Then he realized that Circuit was trying to manipulate him by using his emotions against him. So Klunk's eyes narrowed back into their angry positions, he reached down and grabbed Circuit machete, and he got ready to strike.

"Damn it, I am not some tool! I am not a weakling! Feelings are beneath me! AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Klunk raised the machete and jumped at Circuit. Then, while he was in midair, time seemed to slow down. The first thing he knew was that he was about to stab Circuit, killing her in a fountain of blood. But, the next thing that happened he was not prepared for. The very second his feet touch the ground, something felt like it was about to tackle him, but it didn't. It just grabbed him and kept him in place. And the force of the sudden stop made the machete fall out of his hand. Then he realized that the something that had stopped him was Circuit. She had her arms wrapped around him, and she was leaning on him a bit (maybe because of the broken leg). Klunk just kept his place, not knowing what to do.

"You are right, you are not a tool, and you are not a weakling. You are Klunk, and you are my brother, and I love you, no matter who you decide to be."

"Sh-sh-shut-t u-up," Klunk said, trying to pull himself out of Circuit's grip. But, for some reason, he found himself not wanting to. He was not one to be hugged, but...but maybe it's because he had never been hugged before. He had also never been told that he was loved before. The pain in his chest grew heavier and heavier, until eventually, it hurt so much that his eyes started to fill with tears. Klunk was crying, he was actually crying. "Shut...sh-shut...I'm sorry!"

Klunk hugged Circuit back and he let loose a storm of tears. He felt like a lost little kid who had just found his family. And he had to admit, it felt great to be loved. Circuit held her brother tight, smiling happily as she shed a few tears of her own. Then she closed her eyes and placed her chin on Klunk's shoulder.

"Those the universe's jokes may seem confusing, but when you finally get it, you will always feel better."

Ratchet watched the whole thing from the window, and he was pretty amazed. Circuit had decided to talk it out with Klunk instead of fighting him. He took his hands off the glass, placed one hand on his waist, and gave a small grin.

"That's my girl."

* * *

**(This chapter is brought to you by "Tomorrow is Another Day" from the Blue Exorcist soundtrack, because holy Orvus, it was on repeat for the entire time I was writing this)**

**Okay, that was, like, ten times more emotional than I thought it would be. And I am super happy with it.**

**Only two more chapters left, and they'll (hopefully) be up by tomorrow. It's going to be a big ending, believe me.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	33. Chapter 33

When Clank finished fixing the teleport pad, the two teleported back into the testing facility, where Circuit and Klunk were still hugging. But they separated when Ratchet and Clank arrived. Klunk stepped forward and was about to say something, but Ratchet kicked him, making him fall back a few feet.

"Hey!"

"Ratchet!" Circuit said with a bit of anger.

"Sorry! It's just that you kinda beat up my kid and uh...yeah." He knelt down next to Circuit and observed her, "Wow, he banged you up pretty good. It's gonna take awhile for me to fix you up."

"F-Fix me up...yeah," the female robot said quietly, her head pounding. "Where is Nefarious?"

"Well, he's not unconscious in that room up there because I hit him in the back of the head with my Omniwrench, it that's what you're thinking."

"Heh-heh," was Circuit's only response. She was in so much pain, she didn't think that she could say much more.

Ratchet gave her a concerned look, but then he switched his gaze over to Klunk, "So, you're on our side now. That's cool, I guess. But I'm telling you right now, I ain't calling you my son or anything."

"O dear god, no. Even I wouldn't like that. I have a sister, that's plenty enough for me," Klunk said, waving his hands. "But I must ask, what are we going to so now?"

"First, we must deal with this Biobliterator," Clank said, pointing to the giant weapon. "How far is it from completion?"

"Well, it's still running its test trials, and it's still dependent on that control panel. But it won't be much longer before Nefarious has it out and destroying the galaxy."

"Is there anyway to shut it off or disable it or something?" Ratchet asked the formerly evil robot.

"Hmm...I guess that the best solution is to enter in the weapon's kill code."

"Kill code?" Circuit asked, tilting her head (which hurt a bit).

"Yes, Nefarious was worried that the secret of the Biobliterator 2.5 wouldn't last long, so he installed a kill code into it in order to disable it so the Galactic Police couldn't locate the weapon's signal and find him. He never actually believed in this plan, you know. There were many times when he considered dropping the whole new Biobliterator idea. So, you guys contact the Galactic Authorities or Rangers or whatever they're called, and I'll enter the kill code."

Klunk trotted over to the Biobliterator's control panel and jumped up on it. He hacked into the terminal and, after clicking on a few more options, a screen popped up that read _Enter Kill Code: __

As Klunk began entering the long kill code into the control panel, both Ratchet and Clank couldn't believe how much Klunk had change in just a matter of minutes. And it was all because of what Circuit said. It was truly amazing.

"He really has changed. Circuit, you are amazing, you really are...Circuit?" Clank said, looking at his female counterpart. She was having a hard time standing, and she looked exhausted. "Circuit, do you need help?"

"N-No! I am fine. It is just the leg...a-and the blood loss," Circuit replied, pointing to her leg and her face.

"Do you want me to kick Klunk again?" Ratchet asked, doing a small kick.

"No, I do not want you to kick my brother again. Besides, he does not deserved to be kicked around anymore. Klunk has a whole changed life ahead of him, and I do not want it to start with him being kicked by a Lombax."

"Alright, alright, I was just offering. anyway, are you doing alright? You...you don't look so good."

"There is nothing to be worried about, Ratchet. I just have a h-head...headache..."

Ratchet's ears dropped, he knew what that headache meant. They were running out of time. "We've got get out of here, fast. Klunk, how are you doing with that kill code?"

"I'm...almost...done..." the red eyed robot replied, focused on his typing.

Circuit put her hands behind her back and looked around, waiting for Klunk to finish. She located Clank, who looked a bit down. His head was hanging a bit, and even his antennae was drooping a little. The poor guy actually looked depressed. So, Circuit walked (well, it was more of a hop) over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek, making the male robot's face go theoretically red.

"You do not have to worry about me, Clank. I am going to be fine," Circuit said, somewhat lying to herself and Clank.

Clank knew that she was lying, but he smiled anyway. It wouldn't be polite to spend his remaining time with Circuit being depressed, he had to be strong for her, like she was being strong for him. He was about to kiss her back, but that was before a plasma bullet was shot at their feet. They both yelled in surprise, and Circuit jumped two feet back. She tried to land on both feet, but the pain of her broken leg made her fall onto her bottom. She looked up and saw Dr. Nefarious pointing a gun at her.

"Hate to break up the love fest, but it's time for me to finish what I started a long time ago!"

"Get away from her Nefarious!" Ratchet yelled, raising his Omniwrench.

"Uh-uh-uh, one step closer, and your precious daughter's brains will be splattered all over the place!" Nefarious replied, pointing the gun at Circuit's head. Ratchet didn't want to, but he backed down. He didn't want Nefarious to hurt Circuit, and fighting him would only cause that result.

"A long time ago? What do you mean a long time ago?" Circuit asked, making everyone look at her.

"I'm talking about what happened right years ago! The day that my doctors made you! You turned out wrong, and I wanted to kill you, but the doctors managed to convince me that you would be useful. Well, news flash, you weren't! Whenever I talked about my evil plans with the first Biobliterator, you would always question me if what I was doing was wrong. You kept telling me that the organics of the universe should have a choice or wanting to be a robot or not. And when you finally got on my very last nerve, before I left to finish my preparations, I had one of my soldiers shoot you! It hit you in the side and you fell to the ground!" Circuit touched her side, where the giant bloody hole had been when she woke up at the dump. Nefarious continued. "You didn't move after you were shot, we thought that you had bled out. So, I threw your limp body down the trash chute, and you were hauled off to the dump. But obviously, you weren't dead. I don't get it! How are you still alive!"

"I do not know. I do not remember a thing from right years ago, you know that. And I do not know how I survived being shot."

"Well, I know one thing for sure..." Nefarious's finger started squeezing the trigger of the gun. "You're not going to survive this time!"

"NO!" Ratchet and Clank yelled.

Nefarious pulled the trigger, and a large plasma bullet sailed out the tip of the gun. Circuit didn't have one moment to react, she just sat there, waiting for the bullet to hit and kill her. However, no bullet was going to hit her at all. Not with Klunk running in front of her.

_BAM!_

The bullet hit Klunk in the chest, and the force of it made him and Circuit fly backwards. But Circuit was already on the ground, so she was simply flung backwards onto her back. Klunk, however, landed a few feet away, a tiny bit of smoke was rising from the bullet wound. It took a second for the female robot to process what had just happened, but once she did realize what just happened, she turned around and yelled.

"KLUNK!"

"Oh my god!" Ratchet yelled.

"Oh, damn it Klunk! Well, i guess that it's fine. He was turning on me anyway," Nefarious said, waving the death of his creation off. "Now then, I'll try not to miss this time-OW!"

Ratchet slammed his Omniwrench on Dr. Nefarious's hand, making him drop the gun. Clank actually retrieved the fallen weapon and pointed it at Nefarious, making the doctor put his hands part way up.

"It's over Nefarious. Klunk entered the kill code to the Biobliterator 2.5 and the Galactic Police are on their way. Besides, we all know that you never actually believed that this plan would work, and what do ya know? You were right!"

"Ugh, I really hate you people, do you know that?" Nefarious said, completely unamused. "I'm tired of this planet and I'm tired of all you people...LAWRENCE!" The duo jumped as Nefarious's voice suddenly rose. "Get us out of here! Teleport us to wherever!"

_"Do you remember the last time you told me that, sir? We were stuck on an asteroid,"_ Lawrence said over the speaker system.

"Then you pick a destination! I honestly don't care where we go, just get us out of here!"

_"As you wish, sir."_

And with a sudden orange light, Dr. Nefarious disappeared. Ratchet, though he was angry that Nefarious got away again, couldn't help but feel relieved. He always felt like this when an ordeal was finally over. Now, he could go home and forget about it, which was harder than it sounded. Clank felt relieved as well, but his sense of ordeal-ending satisfaction was hindered by the love of his life crying behind him. Ratchet heard the crying too, and he turned around to see Circuit next to a limp Klunk. Klunk's eyes weren't lit anymore, his antennae wasn't lit up, and he wasn't moving. So that meant that he was...

"He protected me..." Circuit sobbed.

"He did a very brave thing...and we should be proud of him," Clank said, looking down sadly at his clone.

"Klunk spent the majority of his life as a villain. But, at least for a few minutes, he got to enjoy the wonders of being a good guy. And let me tell ya...he proved to be one hell of a good robot," Ratchet said, surprisingly feeling sad. He actually felt bad for the robot. He didn't deserve to get shot, he should have lived longer. But Nefarious just couldn't be fair to his evil companion. Ratchet placed a hand on both robots backs. "Come on, guys. The Galactic Police are coming, we need to leave. Are you going to be okay, Circuit? Because we can stay a bit longer if you really need to."

Circuit sniffled (even though she didn't have a nose) and wiped her eyes. She shouldn't spend her short time left in the universe crying over Klunk's death. She knew that Klunk wouldn't t want that. She stood up and nodded, signifying that she would be fine. Clank put his arm around her shoulder, and she did the same, they did this so it was easier for her to walk. It wasn't easy walking when she had a broken leg. Ratchet would help, but he knew that Clank was the one who wanted to help Circuit the most. So, they walked out of the room and down the hallway, then out the front door of the base. It was sunset, and the air was a bit cooler, it felt nice. Circuit felt the breeze on her face. But it nearly knocked her over. She was so weak, she could hardly stand anymore. And her head was pounding like there was no tomorrow. The little robot nodded to herself.

It was time. It was soon, but it was time. Time to let go of it all.

Circuit's knees buckled, and Clank was forced let go of her as she fell to the ground.

"Circuit! Are you okay?" Clank asked, trying to help her back up. Ratchet noticed what was going on behind him, and his eyes went wide when he saw Circuit struggling to stand up. No, no this couldn't be it. It was way too soon. He quickly got down on the ground and placed a hand on the female robot's back.

"Okay, come on, no more walking. I'm gonna carry you the rest of the way."

"No, Ratchet, please do not," Circuit said with a weak voice.

"Wh-what?" The Lombax replied, eyes widening a little.

"I am in too much pain. May I please just lay down in the grass for a little while, please? It sounds most pleasant."

"But, C-Circuit, we need to take you to Al's! You're gonna-"

"Ratchet..." Clank said quietly with sad eyes. He shook his head. The robot knew what was happening, and he didn't want Circuit to be in anymore pain. Ratchet knew what the robot was telling him, but he didn't want to believe it. They were so close, they were so close to finally start living happily together again. However, he didn't want Circuit to be in any pain either, so he had to agree. He nodded sadly.

"...Okay, Circuit. Take all the time that you need."

"Thank you," the female robot said.

Ratchet laid Circuit down in the grass, but he sat down on his knees and placed her head on them. He didn't want Circuit putting her head on the cold hard ground, it might make the pain worse. Circuit simply laid there, placing one hand on her chest. She felt so tired, it was unbelievable. She was also experiencing a bit of coldness, which was weird because she felt plenty warm a few minutes ago. But she was just telling herself that she was tired and cold so she could try to hide the truth from herself: her time had come. The Hexzar Virus was currently eating away the last of her CPU, but she didn't know when she was going to shut down. The waiting was the most scariest part. But...she shouldn't spend her final moments in silence. Time was running out, and she had a lot of words to say, so she better start now if she was going to fit it all in.

"Ratchet...Clank...I take it that you are both aware of what is about to happen?"

"Yes...yes, we know Circuit," Clank said, sadly nodding his head.

"Yeah, we know...b-but you're going to be okay. Are you aware of that?" Ratchet said, a thin line of water forming in his eyelids.

"Yes, I am aware of that. I have known that I was going to be okay since the day that you two found me. Even though, the day you found me I really wanted nothing to do with the two of you. I even tried escaping after I woke up. But, thankfully, Ratchet pushed me back onto the couch and assured me that I was going to be fine. And look at that, he was right, he kept his promise-"

"No, I didn't keep my promise!" Ratchet said, not able to contain himself. "I promised that you would be fine, but you're not! I wanted nothing more than for you to be safe, but look at you now! I broke my promise! I broke it bad!"

"Do not be so hard on yourself, daddy. This is happening to me because of something that I did, not because of something that you did."

"Actually, this is happening to you because of something that I did," Clank said, his body trembling a little. With Ratchet crying, he wouldn't be able to keep it together for much longer. "I was the one who contracted the Hexzar Virus form that lock panel. So if it was not for me, you would not be...you w-would not b-b-be...I am sorry, Circuit!"

Circuit looked between the two crying boys. All of this fuss just because she was passing away? It made her wonder what they would be like after she passed away? That was something that she would actually not like to see. However, she still had to do something about how they were reacting to her now. So, with all the strength she had left, she grabbed both Ratchet and Clank's hand.

"Honestly, you two. I am just a failed robot clone, you will be fine without me, trust me. Forgetting about me will not be that hard."

"That is not true!" Ratchet yelled. "You can't just forget about someone that you love, trust me, I know! We love you, Circuit, and we always will!"

"These memory banks cannot be manipulated," Clank said, tapping his own head. "The memory of you will remain in there forever. I would be ashamed of myself if I ever let anything happen to my memories of you. The day that I forget you is that day that my own processor shuts down."

"Heh-heh, it feels nice to be loved by people one last time," Circuit said, with a small smile. "But...I want to say something before...before I go. You two took me in without knowing if I was good or evil, you gave me a name, a home, and a family. Before all the stuff with Nefarious happened, I guess you could say that I was the happiest robot in the whole universe. But, now that all of it is almost over, it makes me wish that I could turn back time and relive the whole thing all over again. Daddy, Clank, thank you for this great life. I love you both..."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Ratchet said, his ears were as low as the could go.

"I love you as well," Clank said, the brownish water leaking out of his eyes was beginning to stain his metal surface.

Circuit smiled at both of them, and they managed to smile back. Then the little robot was startled by a message popping up in her vision.

**WARNING! SYSTEM FAILURE! SHUTDOWN WILL COMMENCE IN 10...9...8...**

"Ratchet and Clank..."

**7...6...5...**

"Intergalactic heroes..."

**4...3...2...1...**

"Keep helping people. It is what you do best...I know that."

Circuit smiled as she saw Klunk smiling back at her and holding his hand out.

**0...SHUTDOWN COMMENCING.**

Ratchet's eyes went wide as the calming purple light in Circuit's eyes faded away, and her body became limp. No...no, it couldn't be! He wasn't ready! This couldn't be happening! But Clank knew that it was happening. He put his face into his hands and sobbed as Circuit's signal disappeared from his radar. However, Ratchet was still not willing to accept it.

"Circuit? Circuit?! Wake up! Circuit!"

It was no use. All he was doing was shaking the shoulder of his dead daughter. She was gone, and she was never coming back. Ratchet felt the most horrific pain in his chest, he thought that he was about to have a heart attack. He yelled as his tears came down in waterfalls.

"CIRCUIT!"

* * *

**I...I um...um...y-yeah, I'm just gonna...um...yeah (runs away).**

**The epilogue will be up by tonight. Circuit's spirit is going to meet someone that she thought she would never meet.**

**And ArtSmartQueen, please, please don't say things like that. When people say stuff like that, it makes me really nervous and uncomfortable.**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	34. Chapter 34

Circuit opened her eyes, though she didn't expect that she would be able to do that anymore. And she couldn't help but notice that she wasn't standing on the ground. Actually there was no ground, there was no anything. She was just floating around in a blueish-white field, and there was no one or nothing around. It looked like that she was completely on her own. Was...was this the afterlife? Was this all it was? Just a space full of nothing?

The little robot looked down. but she was started when she saw her body. It was no longer a shiny solid silver. No, it looked like that she just made of a bright blue light. And she was no longer wearing her black jacket. Then she realized what she was. Circuit was no longer a little purple eyed robot, she was a little purple eyed spirit. It actually didn't surprise her that much, when people die, they become spirits and move on to a better place. But...was this empty white field her better place? It sure didn't seem like it...

_Rrrrr...rrrrr..._

Circuit looked up when she heard a weird noise coming from above her. And when she did look up, she was nearly blinded by a bright light. She raised her glowing blue hand in hopes of shielding her eyes, but it only worked a tiny bit. Some of the light was actually showing through her hand, which scared her a bit. But what was this bright light? Was it supposed to be the sun or something? Because it sure was bright.

The light seemed to pulse a few times before it started floating down to Circuit's level. Circuit attempted to get away from the light, but she had no idea how to move around while floating. So she just stayed in her position as the light floated down in front of her. But then, she noticed something. The light appeared to have some sort of figure in it. She reached forward and tried to tap the figure, maybe she wasn't the only one here. But, before she could touch the light, a pink hand came from the light and grabbed her hand. Circuit yelped with surprise as she drew her hand back. Then, suddenly, a pink creature with big blue eyes and some sort of weird blue outfit. Circuit didn't exactly know what to say or do, so the creature spoke first. His voice was calming and even friendly.

"Well, hello XJ-0462!"

"Wh-What? XJ-0...what? Wh-who are you?"

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Orvus," the creature said, placing a small hand on his chest.

"Orvus...?" Circuit said, that name sounded very familiar. Where had she heard it before? Wait...wait, she remembered! She knew who Orvus was! "H-Hey! You are Clank's father! You are a Zoni!"

"Ah, I had a feeling that my son would tell you about me."

"And, Mister Orvus, what was that you called me earlier? XJ-0462? What does that mean?"

"Well that's your name! Just like how my son's name is XJ-0461, and your late brother was XJ-0463."

"I do not understand."

"Well you see, my dear, Clank is what I call an 'XJ Unit'. And since he is the first of his model, he is XJ-0461. And you are the second of the model, so you are XJ-0462. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, I get it now," Circuit said, nodding. XJ-0462. It was a mouthful, but it was a nice name. She looked around the area. "So...where are we?"

"Well, though it pains me to say this, you are aware that you have passed on, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay, well this is a special spectrum that I created. I made it so I could catch your soul before it moved on. I wanted to speak with you, and this was the only way that I could."

"Oh, well, what did you want to talk to me about?" Circuit asked, tilting her head.

"First of all, I want to say thank you for saving my son. If it wasn't for you, he would have surely perished from that virus. And, it is because of your sacrifice, that I am willing to grant you any request. But, I'm telling you right now, I cannot revive you, and I am sorry for that."

"Anything that I want...besides resurrection? Um, is there a way for me to see what Ratchet and Clank are doing right now?"

"Oh, you do not have to use your request in that! I'll do this one for free," Orvus said, clapping his hands together twice.

A small vortex appeared a few feet away from them, and then an image popped up in the middle of it. It was blurry at first, but Circuit managed to make it all out in a few seconds. She could see Ratchet and Clank! They were still on Zanifar, and they...they were still crying a little. They were standing in front of a small patch of dirt that looked like it had been dug in. Wait...where was Circuit's body? And why did it look like the dirt had been disturbed...?

Circuit's eyes went wide, "They...they buried me. They buried me on Zanifar."

"Hm, they must have wanted to put your body to rest in the place where you had your greatest victory. The place where you showed that words are much more powerful than a blade. I was very impressed by the way, what you said to your brother was beautiful."

"Oh, um...th-thank you, sir..." Circuit looked at how miserable Ratchet and Clank were. They looked like that their hearts were literally broken. And who knew how long that they would be like this? Circuit didn't want them spending weeks being depressed, that would be awful! She had to do something about this. She had to make it so Ratchet and Clank would never be sad about her again. And the idea hit her as soon as she looked back at Orvus. "Mister Orvus...I know what I want to request from you."

"Hm? Really? Well then, what would you like to ask for?"

"I want Ratchet and Clank and everyone who ever knew me to forget about me."

"Wh-what?!" Orvus said surprised.

"You cannot turn back time in order to bring me back to life, so turn back time in everyone's minds so they forget about me! I do not want a single trace of me left in the universe! Please Orvus, make everyone forget about me! I am begging you!"

Orvus pondered this odd and unexpected request. It was possible to remove the memories of Circuit from everyone she had ever met, but who would want to be forgotten? However, Orvus did notice how sad his son looked, and Ratchet didn't look too happy either. He wouldn't want those two to be miserable either. So, he sighed, then looked at Circuit.

"...Okay, my dear. I will send the Zoni out to take the memories of you from everyone. Any footage and picture of you will also be deleted. But, I need to know if you're absolutely sure about doing this."

"I am sure. The sooner everyone forgets about me, the better. I want Ratchet and Clank to be happy again, and that cannot happen while they are crying over my death. This is what I want to do, Mister Orvus, I am certain."

"Okay, it will be done. And, I must tell you, there is a way to undo the memory loss. If you ever make eye contact with anyone that you have ever known, they will remember everything. But, because they will have forgotten about you, no one will know about your buried body on Zanifar, so I doubt that anyone will be making eye contact with you."

"Yeah..." Circuit said quietly. She looked at Orvus, "What now? Do I move on? What is my spirit supposed to do?"

"Well, about that...I have a request of my own, XJ-0462."

"Really? What is it?"

"You see, because if the deeds that you have done for the universe and my son, I would like to offer the Great Clock as your spirit's resting place."

"The Great Clock...?"

"Mm-hm. I think that you'll really like it there. There's a lot of space to roam around in, and I can make it so the Caretaker there, Sigmund, can see and talk to you. But only Sigmund. Putting you in the visible spectrum takes a lot of energy, and one robot is all I can do with you. So, what do you say?

"Live in the Great Clock, and only one robot will be able to see me?" Circuit mumbled to herself. She closed her eyes, smiled, then looked at Orvus. "Mister Orvus, it would be an honor to stay at the Great Clock. And even though only one person will be able to see me, I know that we will get along great. I am ready, I am ready to move on!"

"Alright then, my dear. I will transfer you to the Great Clock. I will have a Zoni tell Sigmund that you're coming. Let us go, now. You have a robot to meet. You're going to love, Sigmund, he's a nice lad," Orvus changed the image of Ratchet and Clank (who were now slowly walking away from Circuit's grave) to the Great Clock. Circuit thought that it looked beautiful. The Zoni held his hand out towards her "Shall we?"

"Yes, sir," Circuit said with a nod, taking Corvus's hand. She was ready for her life at the Great Clock. And soon, Ratchet and Clank will no longer remember her, so they'll be happy. And as long as they're happy, Circuit was happy.

Before Orvus led Circuit to the Clock, he glanced at her. "It really is a shame about you passing away, XJ-0462. I must say that you and my son made the cutest couple."

"You think so?" The female robot asked, her face turning red.

"Yes. And it is a shame that your relationship with him never went further. I would have loved to call you my daugher-in-law."

And with that, Circuit's spirits was led to the Great Clock by Orvus, her new afterlife waiting for her. She had a new friend to meet, a new home to explore, and an eternity to start living. And even though she would have been forgotten by everyone she had ever known, she was happy to have been erased from the universe. No one would remember her, so no tears would ever be shed over her again. For the first time in Circuit's life, she was ready for every joke that the universe threw at her.

_'The universe is going to throw a lot of jokes my way, whether I am dead or alive. But the jokes may not make themselves clear, so I must listen closely. And though my face has been wiped from existence, I still feel the love from Clank and my daddy. It is like I said before, perhaps some things are best forgotten, and so are some people. I may be dead, but I remain alive in the hearts of the people who have forgotten me. My adventure may have been short, but it was the greatest joke that the universe has ever told me. However, my death is not the punchline. That you will have to figure out for yourselves. Who knows? Maybe the joke is not quite over yet.'_

* * *

**I started this fanfiction back in March, and it was my first Ratchet and Clank fanfic ever. And now it is finished. I must say, it went a lot better than I had expected it to. Yes, it did suck pretty bad in the beginning, but it got a lot better as time went on.**

**Well, what did you guys think about my very first R&amp;C fanfic? Good? Bad? Tell me in the reviews!**

**And now, I must rest because my hands are freaking killing me from writing all day. And I still have to start writing the new Follow the Universe chapter...sh*t!**

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

**This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


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